Other Events during World War II

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Eventually, the German submarine menace was contained, and England and Europe got vital supplies and troops. The Navy’s most notable Atlantic action may have been its part in the June 6, 1944, invasion of Normandy—the largest amphibious operation in history. The greatest armada ever assembled carried out minesweeping, shore-bombardment, amphibious operations, and transported supplies and troops. Those operations let the Allies complete D-Day landings successfully and eventually push on to Germany. Widespread fighting on the oceans brought about the building of a fleet unlike any in history. This was a swift striking force. It had the advantages of speed, mobility, and surprise, yet it possessed the firepower and protective armor to stand and slug it out with enemy forces. Such a fleet was made up of ships with names synonymous with heroism, such as the USS Tarawa, USS Missouri (fig. 5-12), USS Tucson, USS Higbee, and USS O’Bannon. Other Events during World War II During the 5-year period ending in late 1944, 9 million tons of vessels had been added to the U.S. Navy. One novel development was the large assortment of landing ships that began appearing in the early stages of the war. Possibly the most versatile of the many new types of ships built during World War II were the destroyer escorts, now called frigates. Other types built during that time included attack cargo ships, transports, barracks ships, net tenders, repair ships, radar pickets, minelayers, and mine sweepers. Those ships, as well as many other types of ships too numerous to mention, changed the shape of the U.S. Navy almost overnight. When the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor, 111 American submarines were in commission, 60 in the Atlantic Fleet and 51 in the Pacific. After the invasion of North Africa, U.S. efforts were concentrated in the Pacific, leaving submarine operations in the Atlantic to U.S. Allies. The Pacific became the hunting grounds for American submarine forces. The number of American submarines during the war peaked at 247. During the war, the United States lost 52 of these boats along with 3,505 submariners. The number of vessels sunk by U.S. submarines played a major part in the American victory in World War II. American submarines sank 1,750 Japanese merchant 5-21 Student Notes: Figure 5-11.—Part of Task Force 58 at anchor in the Marshall Islands, April 1944.

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