From the Sea Versus The U-Boat

Abstract

This paper will analyze World War II U-boat operations against Allied sealift with focus on the period from May 1943 to the end of the war. It will show the relevance of the operational and strategic decisions of this historical campaign to the challenges of today's potential regional conflicts. In 1943, Allied technological innovations and convoy employment precipitated a decline in U-boat successes and changes to the final portion of the U-boat campaign produced fewer U-boat victories, yet remained an effective operational scheme. It is relevant that the inability of Allied forces to consistently thwart successful U-boat attacks, along their own coastlines, emphasizes a weakness in our Naval Strategy Today, insufficient and usually lightly protected sealift. The Navy and Marine Corps joint White Paper, from the Sea, articulates Navy support of the National Security and National Military Strategies of the United States with a commitment to concentrate more on capabilities required in the complex operating environment of the 'littoral' or coastlines of the earth.

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Document Details

Document Type
Technical Report
Publication Date
Nov 12, 1994
Accession Number
ADA279488

Entities

People

  • Brian A. Cosgrove

Organizations

  • Naval War College

Tags

Communities of Interest

  • Ground and Sea Platforms

DTIC Thesaurus Topics

  • Antisubmarine Warfare
  • Boats
  • Governments
  • Marine Transportation
  • Military Operations
  • Military Strategy
  • National Security
  • Naval Operations
  • Naval Warfare
  • Navy
  • New York
  • North America
  • Sea Control
  • Second World War
  • United States
  • United States Central Command
  • Warfare

Fields of Study

  • Environmental science

Readers

  • Economics
  • Military History / Militaries and War Studies
  • Naval Architecture and Marine Engineering.