Battle of the Atlantic

by Samuel Eliot Morison

Overview

Recounts the role of the United States in World War II at sea, from encounters in the Atlantic before the country entered the war to the surrender of Japan.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780316583015
Publisher:	Little, Brown and Company
Publication date:	01/30/1947
Series:	History of the United States Naval Operations in World War II Ser. , #1
Pages:	434
Sales rank:	1,019,462
Product dimensions:	6.00(w) x 9.00(h) x 1.21(d)
Age Range:	13 Years

Table of Contents

	Foreword	vii
	Preface	ix
	Introduction, The United States Navy Between World Wars	xxxiii
1.	International Limitation of Naval Armaments	xxxv
2.	Pacifist Propaganda	xli
3.	The "Billy Mitchell" Crusade	xlv
4.	Development of Fleet Aviation	xlix
5.	Development of Amphibious Warfare	liii
6.	General Progress	lvi
7.	Comparison of Naval Strength	lx
	Abbreviations Used in Text	2
I	The Naval Antagonists, 1939-1940	3
1.	The Nazi Navy and Naval Policy	3
2.	The Royal Navies	11
3.	The Neutrality Patrol of the Atlantic Squadron	13
II	Transatlantic Convoys under Anglo-Canadian Escort, September 1939-December 1940	17
1.	Convoy Definitions	17
2.	The Transatlantic Convoys	19
3.	Effect of the Fall of France, June 1940	22
III	"Short of War" Policy, June 1940-March 1941	27
1.	The "Two-Ocean Navy"	27
2.	Martinique and Neutrality Patrol	30
3.	The Destroyer-Naval Base Deal with Britain	33
4.	Lend-Lease	36
5.	Staff Conversations and Basic Strategic Decisions, August 1940-March 1941	38
a.	Admiral Stark and Exploratory Conversations
b.	The Basic Strategic Concept of the War
6.	Transatlantic Escort Plans and the Support Force	48
IV	"Short of War" Operations, March-August 1941	56
1.	British Transatlantic Convoys, March-May 1941	56
2.	Greenland and Western Hemisphere Defense	58
3.	The Crisis of Midsummer, 1941	64
a.	Unlimited National Emergency
b.	The Escort-building Program
c.	Azores or Iceland?
d.	Casco and Argentia
e.	The Atlantic Conference
V	The United States Navy Joins Battle, September-December 1941	74
1.	From Patrol to Escort Duty	74
a.	Occupation of Iceland; Operation Plans of July
b.	Attack on U.S.S. Greer; de Facto War Begins
c.	Atlantic Patrol
d.	Navy Begins Escort Duty
2.	First Blood for the Nazis	92
a.	Attack on Convoy SC-48; U.S.S. Kearny
b.	Sinking of U.S.S. Reuben James; Winter Escort Duty
3.	Convoy Procedure and Early Lessons	99
a.	Procedure
b.	Communications
c.	The Fueling Problem
4.	The First American Convoy to the Orient, WS-12X	109
VI	The German Submarine Offensive of 1942, January-July 1942	114
1.	Transatlantic Convoys, December 1941-June 1942	114
2.	The Assault on Coastal and Caribbean Shipping	125
a.	From New England South
b.	Gulf Sea Frontier
c.	Caribbean
d.	Off the Canal Entrance
3.	First Kills of U-Boats	154
VII	The North Russia Run, December 1941-July 1942	158
1.	Conditions and Urgencies	158
2.	The Tough Month of March	164
3.	Task Force 39	167
4.	Convoys PQ-16 and QP-13	171
5.	The Ordeal of PQ-17	179
VIII	Missions to Malta, April-May 1942	193
IX	Trends and Conclusions, January-June 1942	198
X	The Organization of Anti-Submarine Warfare, 1939-1942	302
1.	The Complex Problem	202
2.	Administration and Sea Frontiers	205
3.	Weapons and Devices	200
a.	Anti-Submarine Weapons
b.	Sound Geac and Sound Schools
c.	The Anti-Submarine Warfare Unit
d.	Scientists at Operational Level
e.	Radar in Anti-Submarine Applications
f.	The High-Frequency Direction-Finder
4.	The Anti-Submarine Fleet	229
a.	Subchasers
b.	The Subchaser School at Miami
c.	Cutters, Gunboats and Destroyers
5.	Air Power and the Submarine	237
a.	The Army Anti-Submarine Air Command
b.	The Naval Air Patrol
6.	Coastal Convoys	252
a.	Atlantic Coast Shipping Lanes
b.	"Bucket Brigades"
c.	Convoys Extended Coastwise
d.	Caribbean Convoys
e.	The Interlocking System
XI	Amateurs and Auxiliaries	266
1.	The Patrols	266
a.	Inshore
b.	Ship Lane
c.	Coastal Picket
d.	Civil Air
2.	Mystery Ships	281
3.	Fishermen and Air Observers	286
XII	Merchant Ships and Their Armament	290
1.	Ship Production	290
2.	Naval Armed Guards	296
XIII	Examples, Errors and Lessons, January-June 1942	303
XIV	Ten Months' Incessant Battle, July 1942-April 1943	311
1.	Trends	311
2.	Transatlantic Convoys	317
a.	Daylight Attacks
b.	The Midwinter Blitz
c.	Troop Convoys
d.	Heineman's Harriers
3.	Gulf and Caribbean	346
4.	Central Transatlantic Convoys	352
5.	North Russia Convoys	358
a.	Tuscaloosa's Mission
b.	Convoy PQ-18
c.	"Trickle" and Renewed Convoys
d.	American Seamen in North Russia Ports
XV	"Deus E Brasileiro," September 1941-April 1943	376
XVI	Unescorted Ships with Armed Guards	392
XVII	Analysis and Conclusion, April 1943	400
1.	The Situation from the German Point of View	400
2.	The Situation from the Allied Point of View	403
Appendix I	Losses of Merchant Shipping	410
Appendix II	Monthly Sinkings of German and Italian Submarines	415
Appendix III	Arming of Merchant Vessels	416
Appendix IV	Mine Fields Laid by U-Boats in Western Atlantic, 1942	417
Appendix V	The Support Force Atlantic Fleet, 18 March 1941	418
Appendix VI	The Atlantic Fleet of the United States Navy, August 1942	419
	Index	423