The Price of Admiralty

Now the Battle of the Atlantic was history; the U.S. Navy dissolved its antisubmarine flotillas and the Tenth Fleet staff organization under Fleet Admiral Ernest J. King. But as the battle became history, the Navy disclosed how serious The U-boat menace had been,* and how great the price of victory.

Since 1941, the U-boat fleet had sunk no less than 440 U.S. ships, of 2,740,000 gross tons; mines, surface ships, aircraft and miscellaneous enemy action boosted the toll to 538 ships (3,310,000 gross tons or almost 5,000,000 deadweight tons). U.S. merchant seamen killed or missing totaled 5,579. To the British Empire, the cost was far greater: 2,570 ships, of 11,380,000 gross tons; 30,000 mariners dead or missing. For all the Allies and the few neutrals, the monstrous total stood: 4,770 ships, 21,140,000 gross tons:--equal to the British Empire's entire prewar merchant fleet, then by far the world's largest. In Kipling's words:

If blood be the price of admiralty,

Lord God, we ha' paid in full!

* The Port of New York was closed for three days in November 1942 by U-boat mining; Chesapeake Bay was twice closed. Ten mines were swept from the Panama Canal entrance.

This file is automatically generated by a robot program, so reader's discretion is required.