General Discussions
This is the place to discuss general issues related to the U-boat war or the war at sea in WWII.
Re: Were they really worth it?
Posted by:
Don Prince
()
Date: February 15, 2014 03:48AM
According to this web site 1156 U-boats were built and 761 were lost. During the war, 2779 ships were sunk (14.1 million Tons) by U-boats. The ratio is about 3.65 to 1.
However, one has to understand that most of the losses (607) happened from 1943 through 1945, why was this?
The US was providing aid to England from the very beginning of the war in 1939, but President Roosevelt made it official on March 11, 1941 when the Lend-Lease Act was signed. Whereby, the US provided the British, French, and later the Chinese and Russians war materials and food supplies. The US had one great advantage - distance from the war theater so our manufacturing was not interrupted by the war.
Simply put, the British ("Some Chicken" as Winston Churchill stated to the US Congress) were being saved by the hundreds of Destroyers providing protection for the convoys, and later the Air Power use to target U-boats and carpet bomb Europe.
The German technology was no less than that of the US (i.e., Type 21 U-boat, V2 Rocket, Me 262 jet fighter, or the Tiger II Panzer). They were just massively out numbered, and that caused the war to change decisively beginning in 1943 (my humble opinion).
Regards,
Don_
"A man's got to know his limitations..."
Harry Callahan, SFPD
However, one has to understand that most of the losses (607) happened from 1943 through 1945, why was this?
The US was providing aid to England from the very beginning of the war in 1939, but President Roosevelt made it official on March 11, 1941 when the Lend-Lease Act was signed. Whereby, the US provided the British, French, and later the Chinese and Russians war materials and food supplies. The US had one great advantage - distance from the war theater so our manufacturing was not interrupted by the war.
Simply put, the British ("Some Chicken" as Winston Churchill stated to the US Congress) were being saved by the hundreds of Destroyers providing protection for the convoys, and later the Air Power use to target U-boats and carpet bomb Europe.
The German technology was no less than that of the US (i.e., Type 21 U-boat, V2 Rocket, Me 262 jet fighter, or the Tiger II Panzer). They were just massively out numbered, and that caused the war to change decisively beginning in 1943 (my humble opinion).
Regards,
Don_
"A man's got to know his limitations..."
Harry Callahan, SFPD
| Subject | Written By | Posted |
|---|---|---|
Were they really worth it?
|
Secession | 02/14/2014 03:21AM |
|
Re: Were they really worth it?
|
Don Prince | 02/15/2014 03:48AM |
|
Re: Were they really worth it?
|
Rainer | 02/15/2014 09:59AM |