Introduction

Submarine Fleets over the 1939-1945 War. (a) Germany. The number of recorded U-Boats strirk, or captured, over the course of the war vary, depending on the source of one's statistics, but this figure varies only slightly from 781 to 785 58 The U-Boats wreaked havoc on Allied Shipping, sinking 14,500,000 tons over all the oceans of the world, out of this total, some 11,904,954 tons was sunk in the North Atlantic alone, Although the U-Boats were eventually fitted with the "Schinirchel" allowing then' to charge their batteries, whilst breathing below the surface, thus making them harder to find, over June to December 1944, 140 Boats did not return to their bases. The U-Boat Command paid a huge price in the loss of their personnel, of 40,600 Officers and Men involved, 30,246 were killed and another 5,338 taken Prisoner of War. (a) British. The British lost 75 Submarines, and thwr under water Fleet sank 1,520,000 tons of Merchant Shipping, and 169 Warships, in all theatres, The British Merchant Navy had very heavy casualilies, they lost 30,248 men, whilst the Royal Navy had incredible losses, 73,642 during the war, most of these in the North Atlantic. In addition, The Royal Canadian Navy lost more men than did the U.S. Navy, those trom Canada paying the ultimate price numbered 1,965 men. Coastal Command losses need to be added to this side of the equation too, and they added up to another 5,866 Men, and 1,777 Aircraft. R.A.F. Coastal Command Aircraft flew 120,000 sorties, talcing 850,000 hours, and they flew 100 Million miles. (c) Japan. Japan started the war with 63 operational Boats, 48 1 class, or large Submarines, and IS of the smaller RO class, and they had another 29 Boats under construction, but not yet commenced. In all, 126 Submarines were built during the war, and 56 remained at the surrender, mast of them were inoperable through lack of maintenance or damage sustained at sea 127~ Japanese Submarines (excludin8 Midgets ) were lost in the Pacific War 70 to Ships, 1910 enemy Submarines, 18 to Aircraft, and the balance to miscellaneous causes. • A number of sources put the Japanese Submarine losses as high as 131, but in correspondence Iliad with the Japanese Defence Attache, Captain. T. Yamamoto dated the 9th. of April, 1997, he placed the figure at 127. ( see his letter on page 59 ) To quote Polmar from his "Submarines of the Imperial Japanese Navy 1904-1945." "The traditional application of Submarines in the Japanese Navy was to operate Ill Fleet warfare, therefore, the Cruiser type Submarines were developed to participate in Ieiigthy Cruiser operations, the Fleet type to accompany the Battle Fleet, and the medium size to use in Coastal defence," Polmar also notes:- "Toward the end of the war, as a trump card for the defence of the Japanese homeland, the smaller size, special attack Midget Submarine, and the "Kaiten" EMBASSY OF JAPAN 59 Ill ~MPiRE CIACuI~ yA~RALOMLA. A~c T 2~OO 9April 1997 Licutcnant Commander IvI J Gregory (R'td) 1/67 Volitan~ Avcioic MOUNJ ELIZA VIC 3930 Dear Lieutenant Commander Gregory I ~m writing in response tu your letter sent to the Consulate General in Melbourne dated 23 November 1996. 1 apologise that it took so long to reply. I have asked for 'fukyo to obtain the data of which you requested. However, I have been informed that it is very difl~icult to obtain certain data since almost all records and docurtients were confiscated by the allied forces after the war. Please tiud bclow the following data. I. ~ 98 US ships which total tonnage is 520,000 tons was sunk in the Pacific War. Uhe total of 56 ships were attacked by Japanese submarines. There is no data of any other foreign ships. 2. i~ pan lost 2,568 ships (about 8,430,000 tons) during the Pacific War. 1,113 ships (4,470,902 tonS) ofthe 2,568 ships were sunk by Subtuarines. 3. 127 Japanese submarines were sunk during the Pacific War. Yours sincerely Captain T Yarnamoto JMSDF Defence Attach~ 60 human Torpedoes were massed produced, but the war ended before they could be effectively employed. Polmar also commented:- "So devastating was the Anti-Submarine warfare, that, when the conflict ended, ther were only 9 large attack Submarines still in service." Japanese Submarines accounted for about 184 Merchant Ships with a tonnage of 907,000 tons.( this included 98 U.S.Ships, of 520,000 tons. see Captain. Yamamoto's letter at page 59.) In addition they sank 2 Aircraft Carriers, 2 Cruisers, and 10 Destroyers. In Hashimoto's book:- "Sunk~ The Story of the Japanese Submarine Flect. 1942-1945." he notes,- "The Japanese Submarine Fleet was entirely wiped out, but the Martial spirit af it's Sailors is still with us on the far flung oceans In the Pacific, the Indian Ocean, and the Atlantic, we remember the multitude of resentlul sleeping warriors, in our ears we hear the whisper ofthe Voices from the bottom or the Sea.'. The operation of Japan's Submarine Fleet was, in general, distastrous, Crews and Boats were sacrificed through poor plawllng, and the lack of suitable and efficient Radar (d) Russia. Russia commenced the war with 218 Submarines, added another 54, but lost a total of 109 Boats. Like Japan, Russian Submarines had only limited success, and in the case of the Russian Submarines their kills were in no way commensurate to the loss of 109 Boats They sank only 160 Ships, many of them small, to total only 41,203 tans, and their operation was restricted 10 the Baltic and the Black Sea areas. However, the largest loss of life accredited to any one Submarine attack goes to a Soviet Submarine, the S13. It was on the 30th. of January, 1945, that the German "Wilhelm Gustlolf,"of 25,484 tons, was being used as a relugee transport evacuating German troops trying to escape from the Red Army advance.( Between the 23rd. of January and the 8th of May, 1945, liners carried over 2 Million troops from the Baltic to West German ports.) The "Wilhdm Gustloff," had 8,000 people jan"ned on board, this cargo included troops, wounded, and some civilians, her company at this time, was four times her normal peacetime capacity. The Soviet Submarine sighted the ship, lined her up, and fired, three Torpedoes struck home, only 1,000 survived, leaving the approximate number who died at 7,000 These figures equate with the loss in the "Lusitania" multiplied six fold, this action became the worst disaster in Maritime History. 0 (e) Italy Wlteti ltaiy dccl,' icd war on Britain in Juire 1940, she had about 115 Submarines, although Mu~s()lII'i, 0' the I Itli of March, 1940, told Rippentrop that 120 Italian Submarines would be ready the following May ( The Ciano Diplomatic Papers, 1949.) but then Mu~~oli" wa~ never noted for his veracity ltaly'~ Subn'ai'nc uperatioi'~ weie generally linuted to the Mediterranean, although very lii"itcd numbers did ~et out to operate in the Atlantic, and the Red and Black Seas. Sonic 82 Italiart Sobutarines were su'tk duritig their wartime activities, this figure has been cited at 85, but hot" correspondence I had with the Italian Defence Department in Rome I Itave u~cd the total of 82. The statistical data they sent, some thin8 in excess of3O pages was in Italian, and I an' gratelul to the President ofthe Heidelberg Sub Branch of the Naval As~uciation, Ilenri Conway, for arranging for a member ot the local Italian Naval Association to translate into English the major headings u~d for the Submarine name, place and date of It's sinking etc A lurther 10 were disa'.med,and another 6 put out of action Tonnage sunk by Italian Submarines is difficult to document, but from the total Warship and Merchant Ship sirtkings at August 1942, I estimate this figure lobe in the vicinity of a 1,000,000 tons Admiral Duiijtz was quite scathing about the Italian's lack of results emanating from their Submarines dcploycd in the Atlantic. (e) United States The U S Submarine Fleet alter Pearl Harbour entered their war with Ill Boats in continission- SI in tite Pacific, ( 29 at Marila, and 22 at Pearl Harbour.) A lurther 73 were uitder construction The japanese Merchant Fleet was deciniated by Submarines, (the British and Dutch Submarines in Ilte Pacitic accounted for 29 sttIp~ of65,00() tons, and to ships of 42,000 tons respectively ) Although the U S Submarine am' claimed tO million tons ofJapanese shipping sunk, ntade up from 4,000 vessels- post war estimates were just over half of the claimed tonnage sunk, and ships numbers were closer to 33% of those claimed. I have alrcady coimnented on the defective A'nerican Torpedo in the earlier part of the Pacific war, but U S. Subniarines fired 14,748 Torpedoes at their targets something in excess of II Torpedoes for each ship sunk, many missed thair mark, and subsequently were wasted In tite case of H M A S "Canberra," it would seem from Bruce Loxton's book "The Shame of Savo," we picked op a lilendly Torpedo which came fiom our Starboard screening Destroyer, the U S S "Bagley." 62 I The American Submarine service enjoyed the greatest success of all Submarines operated by either Allied or Enemy Navies, eg. they sank about five limes the tonnage that Japanese Submarines achieved. They lost 52 Boats, ( 2 in the Atlantic ) the least number of Submarines of any Navy involved in the Second World War. However, comment must be made that the United. States.Submarines operating against the Japanese Navy were faced with the most inefficient Anti -Submarine force facing the Allies. By contrast, the German U-Boat was always up against the most efficient and determined Anti-Submarine Fleet afloat. The American Submarine operational history concedes.'- "It would do very well for all Submariners to humbly ponder the fact that Japanese Anti-Submarine defences were not of the best. If our Submarines had been conhonted with Allied Anti-Submarine measures, the casualty list of the Submarine force would have been much larger, and the accomplishment of Allied Submarines less impressive." U.S. Submarine slrippers were all Annapolis graduates, and the quality of enlisted personnel serving in Submarines was so high- that almost 50% of them became Officers by war 'send However, many U.S. Submarine Captains did not stand up to the rigors of war that was demanded of them, 3o./. in 1942 were removed for lack of fitness or lack of results, and 14% for the same reason in both 1943, and 1944, The U.S. Submarine force which only made up 2% ofthe United States Navy, accounted for 55% of Japanese maritime losses. But, this service paid a very high price, out ofa total of 16,000 Submariners, 375 Officers and 3 13 I enlisted Men died at sea, this was a 22% casualty rating, the highest percentage ofall the U.S. armed forces. It must be said. that American Submarines in the Pacific, with the limited help of a few British and Dutch Boats, played a major role in the defeat of Japan. They deciniated that country's Merchant Fleet, choking off essential supplies and preventIng the people continuing th~ir support of the Japanese war effort. The following ligures bring out this point most starkly. Japanese Ocean Going Vessels. Tonnage. Cause of Losses. At December. 1941. 5,900,000 1. SubmarInes. 54.7 Built during war. 4.100,000 2. Aircrart. 30.9 10,000,000 3. Mines plus 14.4 Other. Japauc" ocean (~'oing Vessels. i'onnage. Sunk, 8,617,000 Ileavily l)amaged. 'I~tat Losses. ~

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