2. The Battle of the Atlantic

3. What was the Battle of the Atlantic? The Battle of the Atlantic is the name given to the battle for control of the North Atlantic Ocean. It lasted from 1939 until 1944.

4. Aims of the Lesson By the end of this lesson you will be able to: 1. Explain what the Battle of the Atlantic was 1. Explain what the Battle of the Atlantic was 2. Discuss how the Germans gained the upper hand 2. Discuss how the Germans gained the upper hand 3. Give reasons for how the Allies won the Battle of the Atlantic. 3. Give reasons for how the Allies won the Battle of the Atlantic.

5. Why was the fight for the Atlantic so important?

6. The Battle of the Atlantic Heads 1. Around 50,000 merchant seamen died in the North Atlantic….. 2. Many men were drowned or froze… 3. The North Atlantic Ocean was the link that brought supplies…. 4. Britain could not carry on the war ….. 5. Canada entered the war on Britain’s side in September 1939 Tails a) from Canada and the USA to Britain. b) supplying food and raw materials. c) often in appalling conditions. d) to death in the icy Atlantic when their ships were sunk e) without this lifeline. 10 minutes.

7. Battle of the Atlantic Game John Tovey, Vice Admiral, Allied Commander Karl Donitz, Chief Admiral German Commander Play the game to see how the battle was played out. Follow the instructions on the game sheet

8. Churchill’s Greatest Fear Use the Cartoon on page 142 and 143 to complete the focus task on page 143. (10 mins) Use the Cartoon on page 142 and 143 to complete the focus task on page 143. (10 mins)

9. U-boats Use source 11 to draw a spider diagram to show how the German U-boats (submarines) were able to get the upper hand in the early stages of the Battle of the Atlantic?

10. How did the Allies win the Battle of the Atlantic? Aircraft Intelligence New Weapons Radio Naval Tactics Shipbuilding People

11. Intelligence From late 1941 onwards, British code- breakers got better at decoding German codes. If they broke the German code, they knew where the U-boats were and so could guide the convoys away from groups of U-boats. Between May 1942 and May 1943, they managed to steer 105 out of 174 convoys across the Atlantic.

12. Aircraft Long range bombers were converted to anti- submarine use and fitted with special radar and depth charges to be dropped from the planes.

13. New Weapons Powerful explosive called Torpex was used in anti-submarine weapons.

14. Naval Tactics Training for commanders improved. Destroyers with radar were created. They could pick up radio signals from U-boats.

15. Radio This linked together all of the ships and aircraft which were fighting the U-boats. Radio also linked the ships and aircraft with their commanders, who used the latest intelligence information.

16. Shipbuilding The USA made huge numbers of Liberty ships. Soon the Allies were making more ships than the Germans were sinking.

17. People The people of the British, American and Canadian merchant navies all ensured that supplies got through to Britain.

18. Convoys An aerial view of a convoy of ships, 1940 An aerial view of a convoy of ships, 1940

19. Homework Complete parts 2, 3 and 4 of the focus task on page 285.

20. Plenary: Can you now….? 1. Explain what the Battle of the Atlantic was 1. Explain what the Battle of the Atlantic was 2. Discuss how the Germans gained the upper hand 2. Discuss how the Germans gained the upper hand 3. Give reasons for how the Allies won the Battle of the Atlantic. 3. Give reasons for how the Allies won the Battle of the Atlantic.