Product Description

During the Second World War, merchant shipping was Britain's lifeline. Essential goods needed from Asia, Australia, Africa and America had to be brought across the oceans in merchant convoys escorted by British and Commonwealth warships. German U-boats, surface raiders and aircraft did their best to attack and sink these vital convoys and it became increasingly difficult to maintain supplies of raw materials like timber and iron, and foods like meat, cheese, butter and oranges. As the Germans tightened the noose on Britain's Atlantic supply lines, the pressure grew ever greater on Britons to become self-sufficient. The sinking of Allied merchant vessels mounted and Germany came close to winning the Battle of the Atlantic and starving Britain into submission. More Allied merchant ships were lost to Axis U-boat attack than to any other cause combined - in fact more than 1400 ships. In this unique and comprehensive reference volume, the author has gone back to primary sources to provide full details for each and every one of these ships - including the sinking of the vessels, the U-boat and commander responsible, and survivors, if any (see attached example). It represents a groundbreaking piece of research and should become a standard work of reference on the subject.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #983788 in Books
• Published on: 2001-09-14
• Format: Illustrated
• Original language: English
• Binding: Hardcover
• 352 pages

About the Author
Alan Tennent spent most of his working life as Director of Tanker Chartering with Harrison Dixon Ltd, probably the oldest shipping line in the City of London. He retired in 1988 and since then he has written one other book which he self-published, British & Commonwealth Merchant Ship Losses to U-boats 1914-1918 (1990). He lives near Sevenoaks, Kent.

Customer Reviews

From a scuba diving perspective.
When not underwater, one of the most exciting and pleasing aspects of being an underwater photo-journalist, is researching the many shipwrecks available to Scuba Divers throughout the world. A good shipwreck can change the economic fortunes of either a small Caribbean country or improve those of a more wealthy country on the other side of the globe.

A wreck-dive is, of course, much more than visiting an ever-deteriorating pile of scrap metal that just happens to be underwater. This is a dive with a story to tell and, especially so in the case of WW2, a brush with recent history. It is, therefore, a journey where the diver should display all the elements of respect - now required by those who once manned the ship in question and, in so many cases, gave their lives. As far as British & Commonwealth Merchant Ships lost to Axis Submarines during WW2 are concerned, the researcher need look no further than this book - which appears to have few omissions.

"British & Commonwealth Merchant Ship Losses to Axis Submarines 1939-1945" is a hardback book measuring approx. 9½ x 6½ in. The content includes brief details of the wartime fates of over 1,400 ships, 40 b&w photographs, glossary, a very impressive bibliography and ship index. Ships are listed alphabetically by Shipping Company and each narrative includes details of when and where lost, the submarine involved (in some cases the one which laid the mine) and final known position.

Altogether, 320 pages of vital information to get any researcher started on the right track.

NM

A scholarly work with few omissions
This is an excellent reference work giving quite comprehensive details of most British ships lost to Axis submarines during World War II. The British and Commonwealth Merchant Navies sustained terrible losses during this conflict, taking a higher overall loss rate of personnel than any of the so-called fighting services. This book is a great tribute to the sacrifices made by so many civilian sea-farers in the cause of freedom. Unfortunately there are just a few omissions, mainly amongst ferries, but it is still a quite remarkable reference work.