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Battle of the Atlantic

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1939

September

03
- The sinking of the AtheniaOn the evening of 3 September 1939 U-30 torpedoed the British liner Athenia without warning, with over 1,400 people aboard. Between 112 and 117 died.
06
- The Admiralty introduces convoysOn 6 September 1939 the first British convoys and the Northern Patrol set out. A day earlier U-47 had sunk the freighter Bosnia, the first of its kind.
08
- Germany mines British watersIn September 1939 U-boats began secretly laying mines off the British coast, including near Portland. Minesweepers were helpless against the new magnetic mines.
14
- The sinking of U-39On 14 September 1939 U-39 attacked the carrier Ark Royal, but its torpedoes exploded prematurely. Destroyers sank it, the first U-boat lost in the war.
16
- The first HX convoyOn 16 September 1939 convoy HX 1 sailed from Halifax for Liverpool, escorted by Canadian destroyers – the start of the longest convoy series of the war.
17
- The sinking of HMS CourageousOn 17 September 1939 U-29 sank the carrier HMS Courageous west of Ireland; 518 or 519 men died. She was the first Royal Navy warship sunk by the enemy.
24
- Dönitz intensifies the U-boat warOn 24 September 1939, at Dönitz's request, U-boats were allowed to sink ships using their radio and to attack French ones – a first step away from prize rules.
25
- The Pan-American Conference in PanamaIn September 1939 the foreign ministers of 21 American republics met in Panama. Their declaration of 3 October set a war-free zone around the Americas.
30
- Graf Spee sinks her first shipOn 30 September 1939 the “pocket battleship” Admiral Graf Spee sank the British freighter Clement off the coast of Brazil. Her crew survived.

October

November

December

1940

January

February

15
- Germany widens the U-boat warContrary to popular chronologies, no new order came on 15 February 1940. The zones where U-boats sank even neutral ships unwarned had grown since January.

March

11
- Meat rationing in BritainOn 11 March 1940 meat was rationed in Britain. The ration was set by price – 1s 10d per person a week – while offal stayed off the ration.

May

10
- The British occupy IcelandOn 10 May 1940 some 750 Royal Marines occupied Reykjavík without a fight. An army brigade arrived on 17 May, and the marines soon sailed home.

August

September

22
- The attack on convoy HX 72On 20–22 September 1940 the U-boats of Kretschmer, Prien and Schepke sank 11 ships of convoy HX 72 from Halifax without losing a single boat.

October

19
- The slaughter of convoys SC 7 and HX 79On 16–20 October 1940 U-boats sank 20 of the 35 ships of slow convoy SC 7 and 12 of the 49 ships of convoy HX 79 without losing a single boat.

November

1941

February

24
- Attacks on convoys OB 288 and OB 290In the last week of February 1941 U-boats and Fw 200 Condors shattered three convoys sailing from Liverpool to America, sinking more than 20 ships.

March

17
- The end of the U-boat acesOn the night of 16–17 March 1941, at convoy HX 112, Joachim Schepke was killed and Otto Kretschmer captured. Ten days earlier Prien had gone missing.

April

May

June

01
- Clothes rationing in BritainOn 1 June 1941 the British learned that clothing and footwear were rationed. Everyone got 66 coupons a year, at first cut from their margarine coupons.

July

07
- The Americans in IcelandOn 7 July 1941 a US Marine brigade arrived in Reykjavík. The formally neutral United States took on the defence of Iceland alongside the British.

August

27
- The capture of U-570On 27 August 1941 a British Hudson attacked U-570 south of Iceland. The crew hoisted a white flag, and the boat was towed in and taken into the Royal Navy.

September

October

November

01
- The Coast Guard placed under the NavyOn 1 November 1941 Roosevelt placed the Coast Guard under the Navy. Until then this had been done only in wartime, in 1917.

December

01
- The creation of the Civil Air PatrolOn 1 December 1941 La Guardia, head of the Office of Civilian Defense, signed the order creating the Civil Air Patrol to enlist private pilots in US defence.

1942

January

February

10
- The Normandie fireOn 9 February 1942 the liner Normandie, being converted into a troopship, caught fire in New York. Early on 10 February she capsized onto her side.

March

17
- Fuel rationing in BritainOn 17 March 1942 Hugh Dalton announced the rationing of coal, gas and electricity and cut the clothing coupon allowance. The fuel scheme was never introduced.

April

May

June

27
- Convoy PQ 17 sails from IcelandOn 27 June 1942 convoy PQ 17 sailed from Iceland for the USSR – 35 ships carrying equipment for the Red Army, covered by British and American warships.

July

19
- U-boats withdrawn from the US coastOn 19 July 1942 Dönitz recalled the last two U-boats from off Cape Hatteras. Convoys and air patrols had ended the “second happy time” off the US coast.

August

22
- Brazil declares war on Germany and ItalyAfter U-507 sank five ships with over 600 dead, Brazil recognised on 22 August 1942 that it was at war with Germany and Italy.

September

October

14
- The sinking of the CaribouOn 14 October 1942 U-69 sank the ferry Caribou, bound from Sydney to Newfoundland, in the Cabot Strait. 136 or 137 people died, children among them.

December

31
- The Battle of the Barents SeaOn 31 December 1942 British destroyers and two cruisers beat off an attack by Admiral Hipper and Lützow on convoy JW 51B. Every ship reached the USSR.

1943

March

17
- Key eventThe battle for convoys HX 229 and SC 122On 16–20 March 1943 some 40 U-boats attacked convoys HX 229 and SC 122 in the Atlantic air gap and sank 22 ships for the loss of one submarine.

April

28
- Closing the Atlantic air gapIn spring 1943 the Allies sent long-range Liberators, escort carriers and support groups over the mid-Atlantic. On 28 April U-boats sighted convoy ONS 5.

May

24
- Key eventBlack MayIn May 1943 the U-boats lost 41–43 boats for meagre results. On 24 May Dönitz pulled them out of the North Atlantic – the turning point of the Atlantic battle.

August

17
- The Azores AgreementOn 17 August 1943 Salazar, invoking the alliance of 1373, gave Britain the use of ports and airfields in the Azores. Neutral Portugal leaned towards the Allies.

1944

January

12
- The launch of United VictoryOn 12 January 1944 United Victory, the first Victory ship and a faster successor to the Liberty ships, was launched in Portland. 534 were built.

June

04
- The capture of U-505On 4 June 1944 a US carrier group led by USS Guadalcanal forced U-505 to surface off Africa. A boarding party seized the boat, its Enigma and codes.

December

24
- The sinking of the LeopoldvilleOn 24 December 1944 U-486 torpedoed the Belgian troopship Leopoldville off Cherbourg. 763 soldiers of the US 66th Infantry Division were killed.

1945

May

04
- The end of the U-boat warOn 4 May 1945 Dönitz ordered the U-boats to cease fighting. The day before, the Admiral Hipper had been scuttled at Kiel; crews scuttled over 200 U-boats.