The role of Submarines in WW11.
In World War II, submarines defined the warfare at sea, because control of the sea was very
important for Britain, the United States, and Japan. The main extent of submarine success in
World War II was the ability to sink enemy commercial shipping, to create shortages of war
materials and products and to prevent troop transfers. It held the element of surprise and
could attack severely anywhere and anytime with a small crew of between 40 – 80 seamen.
The key weapon was the torpedo.
The main heroes in WW11 were Germany, Italy and Japan versus Britain, USA and Russia.
The area of warfare was basically split in two - the Atlantic and the Pacific.
The German navy had the world’s largest force of almost 1,200…show more content… After spreading themselves alongside the beach, they’d rather follow the
target when detected, than to attack it immediately, regroup themselves ahead of the enemy
and attack it together .Until the end of 1942, the Germans sunk an average of 14 ships for
each submarine lost. After 1943 the German U-boats faced much stronger anti- submarine
forces, which were armed with new technologies and new tactics. The hunters became the
hunted and they lost 781 U boats altogether.
The U.S. Navy, the second largest fleet in the world in 1939 and the largest in 1945, had a
remarkable submarine service throughout the conflict. Beginning with a force of just more
than 100 boats in 1941, the navy acquired 252 boats and lost 52 during World War II. The
US Submarines, in 1940 were more used as surface ships because of its speed and range
but could only travel under water for a restricted time. During four years of war, American
submarines sank more than 600000 tons of Japanese warships and more than 5 million tons
of commercial shipping. The American Submarines in the Pacific played a key role in the
downfall of Japan. The associated submarines served in a variety of duties. The