Greatest merchant fleet backs invasion of ‘Fortress Europa’
By Sandor S. Klein, U.S. staff correspondent
Washington –
The “Western Front” invasion of Europe is backstopped by the greatest merchant fleet in world history.
Today these ships are carrying men and supplies from this great “arsenal of democracy” in numbers and quantities that dwarf anything seen in the last World War. And they are doing it in comparative safety, thanks to the Allied victory over Germany’s vast U-boat fleet in the Battle of the Atlantic.
Adolf Hitler had counted on submarines to thwart the long-planned Allied invasion of “Fortress Europe.” But his trump wasn’t high enough. The United Nations drew a higher hand. For months now, Allied sea and air forces have been destroying U-boats faster than Germany can build them and preventing those escaping destruction from doing much harm. Some ships are still being sunk but they are comparatively few in number; fewer, in fact, than the number of U-boats that are being destroyed.
The exact number of merchantman ships available is not known. But this is certain from production figures available: The so-called “bridge of ships” which did so much to bring victory to the Allies in the last war was a narrow catwalk compared to the great merchant armada spanning the Atlantic today.
By the summer of 1942, the navy and the army had perfected anti-submarine methods. Using everything it had in the way of small craft the navy began escorting coastal convoys. Army and navy planes coordinated their offshore patrol activities. By the fall of the year, the U-boats were finding it tougher and began moving into other areas.
Meanwhile, the navy gave top priority to the construction of special types of hundreds of anti-submarine vessels – destroyer-escorts, frigates, patrol boats and corvettes. It turned to the building of dozens of escort aircraft carriers.
By the latter part of 1942, the submarine menace had been brought sufficiently under control to permit U.S. participation in the invasion of North Africa.
Then, last year, as definite plans for the Western Front invasion began to germinate, the Battle of the Atlantic took a new, important turn. The Allies switched from “protective tactics” to a war of extermination against the U-boats. Special escort carrier task forces were turned loose to seek out and destroy U-boats wherever they could be found. These were supplemented by the huge fleet of anti-submarine surface ships and long-range bombing planes.
Meanwhile, Allied bombers operating from Britain smashed at German submarine-building centers, factories producing parts for the submersibles and at U-boat bases along the French and Norwegian coasts.
Thus, Hitler’s navy found itself in a two-way squeeze; one aimed at impairing U-boat production; and the other, striking at the raiders themselves.
Their effectiveness of anti-submarine measures is reflected in the monthly joint Anglo-American announcements of operations issued during the last six months. For example, during the six-month period from May to October 1943, a monthly average of 25 submarines destroyed was chalked up. This is 10 more per month than Nazi shipyards are now believed capable of producing.