A 2-part series, exploring the role of technology in the Battle of the Atlantic in WW2. How did technical innovations by German, American and British engineers determine the ebbs and flows of the naval battles and the ultimate fate of the German U-Boats fleet?
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Part I – The Battle of the Atlantic in WW2
How did the small, outgunned German fleet manage to strike painful blows to the Great British Navy in WW2? The credit for this success belongs to the German flotilla of submarines: the Unterseeboots, or U-Boats. It’s commander, Admiral Karl Doenitz, applied a once ‘failed’ tactic of ‘Wolf Packs’ attacks against allied merchant marine vessels, and dealt heavy blows to the British and American forces.
Download mp3 – Part I | Link to Part II | Read the Full Transcripts
Let us not forget the 40.000 Merchant Navy seamen that died while on virtually unarmed ships in WW2 . I salute and remember them they shall not grow old…
not bad but the author messed up in calling all surface warships battleships which is absolutely incorrect. The “artistic” license he tried to use an excuse is just that.
Kol hakavod achi!
Aren’t you confusing ‘battleships’ with ‘warships’. The German navy only had two battleships, the Bismark and the Tirpitz and a few ‘pocket’ battleships like the Scharnhorst. No navy had as many as 24 actual battleships. If you don’t know the difference , should you be writing historical websites?
Hi, Jhon, thanks for the feedback.
Of course there’s a difference between Battleships and other types of warships: I should know, as i’m a ship’s captain myself (Israeli Navy). However, for the purpose of this episode – this difference has no real relevance. The focus of the episode are the U-Boats, not the warships, and I knowingly chose to sacrifice absolute accuracy for the sake of clarity. It is an artistic choice. Sometimes, saying ‘Warship’ or ‘Battleship’ and moving on with the story is the right decision, story-wise.
Ran
Would Like To Know More About WW11 U~Boat’s !!!
Hi, Jerry! That’s indeed a fascinating topic – I’m sure
I’ll do a future episode on WWI u-boats 🙂
Ran
As a writer and a naval history buff let me suggest that it’s a poor artistic choice. People who would read these pieces generally know what a battleship is.
You might have a point there, Richard. Still, I do believe that most of the listener don’t
necessarily come from a naval background. For them, spelling out the differences between
the different kinds of warships will be cumbersome and irrelevant. Anyway, point taken and
I appreciate the feedback 🙂
Ran