Topic 3: Changing Methods of Sea Warfare.

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  • Created by: Rita Ora
  • Created on: 03-12-16 10:11
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  • Topic 3: Changing Methods of Sea Warfare.
    • 1) The Battle of the Atlantic.
      • 1) Britain imported half its foods and two thirds of its raw materials.
      • 2) German successes: In 1940, they sank a quarter of Britain's merchant fleet.
        • 3) Britain only able to import one-third of what it normally imported in peacetime.
        • 4) By Jan 1943, the navy only had two months supply of fuel left.
      • 5) Allied successes: A turning point in 1943. U-boats were being sunk at a faster rate than they were sinking enemy ships.
        • 6) In March 1944, Admiral Doenitz called off the U-boat campaign.
      • 2) Reasons for German successes 1940-43.
        • 1) Secure naval bases in the Low Countries.
        • 2) U-boats hard to detect due to their limited radio use.
        • 3) Air cover effective but the planes couldn't cover all the Atlantic, it was called the 'black gap'.
        • 4) With the whole of America's eastern seaboard to attack, the U-boats went on the rampage.
        • 5) Wolf-pack tactics implemented in 1941. A group of U-boats gathered and attacked convoys in numbers.
        • 6) British escort vessels slow and out of date.
        • 7) British had developed ASDIC ( Anti-Submarine Detection Investigation Committee.
      • 3) Reasons for Allied success 1943-45.
        • 1) New tactics developed and training for convoy commanders was improved.
        • 2) Special support groups of destroyers created and fitted. These groups were supported by specialist aircraft.
        • 3) Introduction of 'Hunter-killer' groups of ships to seek and destroy U-boats.
        • 4) Radio linked all ships and aircraft with their onshore commanders.
        • 5) High Frequency Finding System known as, 'Huff Duff' could pinpoint a U-boat's position from its radio transmissions.
        • 6) Long range bombers were converted to anti-submarine use and were fitted with special radar as well.
        • 7) Mid- Atlantic gap  (black gap) was closed when Portugal allowed Allies to use their bases in Azores.
        • 8)Torpex- powerful explosion, used in anti-submarine weapons.
        • 9) Hedgehog depth charges fired clusters of bombs over a wide area.
        • 10) Code breakers at Bletchley Park developed the 'Ultra' machine which decoded secret messages sent by the German machine known as 'Enigma'.
    • 2 major changes in sea warfare during WW2... U-boats and aircraft carriers.
    • 3) The Pacific War
      • 1) The biggest change was introduction of aircraft carriers
      • 4) The Battle of Taranto...
        • 1) November 1940.
        • 2) Demonstrated effectiveness of the aircraft carrier.
        • 3) British aircraft carrier, Illustrious launched: 21 Swordfish planes 170 miles away from the Italian fleet at Taranto.
        • 4) The Swordfish attack was unexpected and inflicted heavy losses on the Italian fleet.
      • 5) Pearl Harbour...
        • 1) 7 December 1941
        • 2) Japanese aimed to wipe out the US Pacific fleet at Pearl Harbour using aircraft carriers, air power and total surprise.
        • 3) The Japanese sank or damaged 8 battleships and put 10 others out of action.
        • 4) However, not as damaging as it could have been...
          • 5) The US Fleet's 4 aircraft carriers were not in port that day
        • 6) It brought USA into WW2.
      • 6) Battle of Coral Sea, May 1942...
        • 1) 1st naval battle in which the opposing sides never sighted one another. They relied on scout aircraft to direct attacks against one another's warships from the air.
        • 2) Japanese lost 2 aircraft carriers to America's 1.
      • 7) The Battle of Midway, June 1942...
        • 1) The Japanese naval commander, Admiral Yamamoto, planned to destroy the US naval power in the Pacific.
        • 2) He intended to draw them into a trap but did not know that the Americans were able to decode Japanese radio messages. This meant that they were ready for the attack.
        • 3) A surprise attack by aircraft from 2 US carriers caught 3 Japanese aircraft carriers, one of which was Kaga.
        • 4) A 4th Japanese carrier, the Hiryu escaped and joined in the attack on the US carrier, Yorktown which was damaged and later sunk. The Hiryu was damaged beyond repair.
        • 5) Midway was a turning point. The Japanese had lost 4 aircraft carriers, the US, only 1. The USA now had complete control of the Pacific.
        • 6) Midway proved the importance of aircraft carriers- it could perform much greater damage than a battleship, much more accurately and at a greater and safer distance.
    • 8) Developments in Submarines.
      • 1) By 1950s, they were able to submerge for weeks and months. Secondly, diesel propulsion had been replaced with nuclear power.
      • 2) By 1960s, ballistic missiles had been fitted to submarines and acted as a deterrent.
      • 3) In the 1960s, Britain developed its own nuclear submarine using Polaris missiles. However the Trident missile replaced Polaris in 1994.
      • 4) Nuclear powered submarines were used by the British in the Falklands war (1982). It saw the first sinking by a nuclear powered submarine. It (HMS Conqueror) sunk the Argentine cruiser, General Belgrano.
    • 9) Aircraft Carriers.
      • 1) Played important roles in: Falklands War (1982) and in the Gulf War (1991).
      • 2) Slanted deck introduced in the later 1940s. Catapults at the bow of the ships enabled efficient launch operations.
      • 3) 1961- the Enterprise, the 1st nuclear powered carrier.
    • 10) The Falklands War, 1982.
      • 1) Argentina invaded the British controlled Falkland Island.
      • 2) British sent a 'task force' led by the 2 aircraft carriers, the Hermes and the Invincible.
      • 3) 2 carriers was crucial to the success of the British operation as they served as floating airfields. Sea Harriers were involved in air strikes. They protected the landings British paratroopers and troops who eventually retook the island.
      • 4) British under threat during the war from air and from Argentine submarines especially as Prince Andrew was a Sea King helicopter. This was confirmed when it was revealed that an Argentine submarine had fired 6 torpedoes at the British fleet.

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