1942 ⟶ US Navy Implements 'Bucket Brigade' and Dönitz Shifts U-boats
The Eastern Sea Frontier, desperately short on suitable esco...
Year
1942
1943
🚢 US Navy Implements 'Bucket Brigade' and Dönitz Shifts U-boats
The Eastern Sea Frontier, desperately short on suitable escort vessels after the Destroyers for Bases Agreement, institutes an interim arrangement known as the "Bucket Brigaid," wherein vessels outside of protected harbors are placed in anchorages protected by netting after dark, and move only under whatever escort is available during the day. As word of this and similar measures reaches Dönitz, he does not wait to test their effectiveness, but instead shifts his U-boats to the area controlled by the Gulf Sea Frontier, where American anti-submarine measures are not as effective. As a result, in May more ships will be sunk in the Gulf, many of them off the Passes of the Mississippi, than off of the entire Eastern Seaboard.⟶
AtlanticU-boatsConvoyAnti-Submarine WarfareShippingNaval StrategyGulf of Mexico
🚢 U-boats Withdrawn from Atlantic Due to Allied Tactics
Admiral Karl Dönitz orders the majority of U-boats to withdraw from the Atlantic because of heavy losses to new Allied anti-submarine tactics. By the end of the month, 43 U-boats are lost, compared to 34 Allied ships sunk. This is referred to as "Black May".⟶
U-boatsAtlanticSubmarine WarfareAllied VictoryNaval StrategyBlack MayAnti-Submarine Warfare