K-9 image © BBC/Bob Baker/Dave Martin 1977. Cyberman image © BBC/Kit Pedler/Gerry Davis 1966. BBC, DOCTOR WHO (word marks, logos and devices), TARDIS, DALEKS, CYBERMAN and K-9 (word marks and devices) are trade marks of the British Broadcasting Corporation and are used under licence. Warlord Games, Bolt Action, Pike & Shotte, Hail Caesar, Cruel Seas, Black Powder, Black Seas, Warlords of Erehwon, Blood Red Skies, SPQR, Beyond the Gates of Antares, Gates of Antares, Algoryn, Boromite, Lavamite, Isorian Shard, Concord, Ghar, NuHu and Freeborn are either ® or ™, and/or © Warlord Games Limited, variably registered around the world. It was only with the development of radar-equipped-aircraft that signed the death knell of the efficacy of the U-Boat, though the submersible menace continued to plague Allied shipping in significant numbers until May 1943, following a significant battle involving the convoy designated ONS 5. Between September 1939 and December 1940, almost five million tons of merchant shipping was sunk, leading to U-boat crews to christen this period the Happy Time. The rise of the U-Boat, the radio communications that allowed them to quickly assemble as the infamous Wolfpacks, and after the fall of France, ease of accessibility from Atlantic ports quickly made the U-boats the dominant threat. Without them, Britain would fall, and quite likely, the entire Allied cause with her.Īt the onset of war, it was perceived by both sides that large ships, such as Germany’s pocket battleships, were the main threat to shipping. The convoys voyaging across the Atlantic were Britain’s lifeline for the whole war. The Merchant Convoy boxed set contains three Liberty Merchant, three Victory Merchant and the SS Ohio Tanker ships. Big, slow and horribly vulnerable, such vessels were no match for a real warship but were deployed for lack of anything better. Even less successful were Armed Merchant Cruisers created by adding thin armour plate and a few guns to a liner or fast merchant vessel. Germany made extensive use of such vessels, with mixed success. This was one reason why unrestricted submarine warfare was the only effective strategy.Īrmed merchant ships could also function as raiders. Revealing her armament at the last second, a Q-ship could quickly sink a submarine if it could be lured in close enough to the ‘defenceless’ merchant. This practice became dangerous and Q-ships (armed merchants with concealed weapons) were deployed. Many submarine attacks were carried out on the surface with guns, in order to save torpedoes. While a couple of 4-inch guns in open mounts would be no use against a serious warship, they might be able to deal with a submarine. Other measures included mounting a few light guns on merchant ships, often with army or navy reserve crews. ![]() Nevertheless, the convoy system helped a great deal. It also made escorts more effective, but in the event a convoy was hit by a surface raider such as a heavy cruiser or battlecruiser, the concentrated target would be devastated in short order. ![]() Grouping ships into convoys meant there was more expanse of empty ocean out there – hopefully raiders would not even find the convoy. There were, however, other ways to defend merchant ships, or to give them a measure of self-protection capability. These vessels battled the submarine threat for the duration of the war, and at times were forced to do what they could against a major surface raider, usually resulting in being sunk. ![]() Preventing attacks on defenceless merchant ships is the other main role of the navy, and it was here the war was fought, day in and day out, by the humble corvette, frigate and destroyer escort, and later by escort carriers. ![]() That victory was almost achieved, while in the Pacific US submarines gradually starved Japan of raw materials by much the same methods. Commerce raiding formed a critical part of the strategy for some nations, and indeed represented the Axis’ best hope for victory over Britain. One of the main reasons to maintain a navy is to deny use of the oceans to the enemy, preventing the movement of industrial goods and materials, troops and supplies.
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