The War at Sea: U-Boats, Convoys, and the Battle of the Atlantic

The Atlantic Ocean became a killing ground. German U-boats hunted in wolf packs, sinking merchant ships carrying supplies to Britain. At the start of the war, they were incredibly successful. Britain needed 50,000 tons of supplies per day just to survive. The U-boats were sinking ships faster than they could be built. The men on those merchant ships, they had it worst of all. They sailed into waters they knew were full of submarines. Their ships could be torpedoed at any moment. If you went into the water, you had minutes before hypothermia killed you. The Allies eventually turned the tide. Convoys, where merchant ships sailed together protected by warships, became standard. Sonar allowed them to detect submarines. Long-range aircraft closed the air gap in the middle of the Atlantic. The Battle of the Atlantic lasted the entire war. From the first day to the last. It was the only campaign that did that. By the end, the Allies had won. But over 30,000 merchant sailors died. Their sacrifice is often forgotten.