Summary of David K. Brown's Atlantic Escorts

By IRB Media

Please note: This is a companion version & not the original book. Book Preview:

#1 The first lesson was that the UK was very close to defeat in 1917, and remained vulnerable to submarine attack. The German U-boat force had three main objectives: to weaken the Grand Fleet by attrition, so that the High Seas Fleet could fight on level terms; to defeat the UK by starvation; and to prevent the US Army from reaching France.

#2 After the war, there was a sense that submarines had been defeated without the use of asdic, and whispers of the new sensor suggested that submarines had lost their cloak of invisibility. There were attempts to agree an international ban on submarines, but they were never likely to succeed.

#3 In the 1920s, there was little or no submarine threat to British merchant shipping. The USA had been ruled out as a potential enemy in the early years of the century, and though the Entente Cordiale still held, Germany was forbidden to build or own submarines.

#4 During the 1920s and 30s, the Navy was extremely underfunded. Battleship-building was forbidden under the Washington Treaty, extended by the London Treaty to 1937, but available building funds went mainly on cruisers and destroyers.

• Language: English
• Publisher: IRB Media
• Release date: May 7, 2022
• ISBN: 9798822507562

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Insights on David K. Brown's Atlantic Escorts

Contents

Insights from Chapter 1

Insights from Chapter 2

Insights from Chapter 3

Insights from Chapter 4

Insights from Chapter 5

Insights from Chapter 6

Insights from Chapter 7

Insights from Chapter 8

Insights from Chapter 9

Insights from Chapter 10

Insights from Chapter 1

#1

The first lesson was that the UK was very close to defeat in 1917, and remained vulnerable to submarine attack. The German U-boat force had three main objectives: to weaken the Grand Fleet by attrition, so that the High Seas Fleet could fight on level terms; to defeat the UK by starvation; and to prevent the US Army from reaching France.

#2

After the war, there was a sense that submarines had been defeated without the use of asdic, and whispers of the new sensor suggested that submarines had lost their cloak of invisibility. There were attempts to agree an international ban on submarines, but they were never likely to succeed.

#3

In the 1920s, there was little or no submarine threat to British merchant shipping. The USA had been ruled out as a potential enemy in the early years of the century, and though the Entente Cordiale still held, Germany was forbidden to build or own submarines.

#4

During the 1920s and 30s, the Navy was extremely underfunded. Battleship-building was forbidden under the Washington Treaty, extended by the London Treaty to 1937, but available building funds went mainly on cruisers and destroyers.

#5

The flotilla at Portland developed the tactical use of asdic, and in so doing exposed its weaknesses. There was a lack of awareness of the extent to which night surface attack was employed in the last year of World War I.

#6

A major review of ASW was carried out in 1932, when there was still no direct submarine threat to the UK. The potential threat was seen as coming from Germany, even though she had no submarines at that date.

#7

The aircraft threat was recognized as serious on the east coast, and a new design of coastal sloop was designed to provide A/S protection. They were beautiful little ships, but too expensive to be built in numbers.

#8

The introduction of convoy was a policy carried out by the Admiralty in the 1930s. It was only introduced when the enemy resorted to