Much of World War II was fought at sea. From U-boats prowling the North Atlantic to the US Navy's march across the Pacific. The Navies played a vital role in keeping the United Kingdom supplied with food, arms and raw materials and in defeating the German campaigns of unrestricted submarine warfare in the battle of the Atlantic. These Forums are dedicated to all Fleets of WWII.
The Kriegsmarine was the name of the German Navy between 1935 and 1945, during the Third Reich. The Kriegsmarine's most famous ships were the U-boat wolf packs. They were submarine groups which seriously harassed Allied convoys during the Battle of the Atlantic. U-boats and pocket battleships were used to disrupt Allied shipping in the earlier years of the war.
The Royal Navy suffered huge losses in the early stages of the war but was still able to play a major role in keeping the United Kingdom supplied with food, arms and raw materials and in defeating the German campaigns of unrestricted submarine warfare in the first and second battles of the Atlantic.
The U.S. Navy grew tremendously as the United States was faced with a two-front war on the seas. It achieved notable acclaim in the Pacific Theater, where it was instrumental to the Allies' successful "island hopping" campaign. The U.S. Navy participated in many significant battles, including the Battle of Midway. By 1943, the Navy's size was larger than the combined fleets of all the other combatant nations in WWII.
The Imperial Japanese Navy (Nihon Kaigun) in 1941 was arguably the most powerful navy in the world. Its naval aviation corps, consisting of 10 aircraft carriers and 1500 topnotch aviators, was the most highly trained and proficient force of its kind.
This forum is dedicated to the rest of the world's Navies who fought during WWII, including the Canadians, French, Dutch and Italians. Also not forgetting Australia and New Zealand for their part in the battles of the seas.
The Allied Merchant Navy was manned by sailors from Great Britain and the many nations which made up the British Empire. During WWII some 24,000 members of the Merchant and Fishing Fleets died and have no known grave but the sea; a ratio of approximately 1 in 3 who served. This forum is dedicatede to all the Merchant Men from WWII.
