| Battle of the Caribbean | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Part ofWorld War II,Battle of the Atlantic | |||||||
 The Antilles, Caribbean Sea and the Gulf of Mexico | |||||||
| |||||||
| Belligerents | |||||||
Allies: United States United Kingdom Canada Netherlands Free France[1] Cuba Panama Venezuela Mexico Colombia Peruother allies | Axis: Germany Italy Vichy France | ||||||
| Commanders and leaders | |||||||
Ernest J. KingJesse Oldendorf Sir Percy NobleSir Max K. HortonIsaías Medina Angarita Francisco de Menocal Roldán |  Erich RaederKarl DönitzRomolo Polacchini | ||||||
| Casualties and losses | |||||||
| 400 merchant ships sunk | 17 submarines[2] | ||||||
TheBattle of the Caribbean refers to a naval campaign waged duringWorld War II that was part of theBattle of the Atlantic, from 1941 to 1945.[3]GermanU-boats andItaliansubmarines attempted to disrupt theAllied supply of oil and other material. They sank shipping in theCaribbean Sea and theGulf of Mexico and attacked coastal targets in theAntilles. Improved Alliedanti-submarine warfare eventually drove the Axis submarines out of the Caribbean region.
The Caribbean was strategically significant because ofVenezuelanoil fields in the southeast and thePanama Canal in the southwest. TheRoyal Dutch Shell refinery on Dutch-ownedCuraçao was processing eleven million barrels per month, more than any otheroil refinery in the world at that time. The refinery atPointe-à-Pierre onTrinidad was the largest in theBritish Empire[clarification needed] andLago Oil and Transport Company was another large refinery on Dutch-ownedAruba. TheBritish Isles required fouroil tankers of petroleum daily during the early war years, and most of it came from Venezuela, through Curaçao, after Italy blocked passage through theMediterranean Sea from theMiddle East.[4]
The Caribbean held additional strategic significance to theUnited States. The United States' Gulf of Mexico coastline, including petroleum facilities andMississippi River trade, could be defended at two points. The United States was well positioned to defend theStraits of Florida but was less able to prevent access from the Caribbean through theYucatán Channel.Bauxite was the preferred ore foraluminum, and one of the few strategic raw materials not available within the continental United States. United States military aircraft production depended upon bauxite imported fromthe Guianas along shipping routes paralleling theLesser Antilles. The United States defended the Panama Canal with 189 bombers and 202 fighters, and based submarines atColón, Panama and at Submarine Base, Crown Bay,St. Thomas, U.S. Virgin Islands.[5][6]United States Navy VP-51Consolidated PBY Catalinas beganneutrality patrols along the Lesser Antillies fromSan Juan, Puerto Rico on 13 September 1939; and facilities were upgraded atGuantanamo Bay Naval Base and atNaval Air Station Key West.[7]
TheUnited Kingdom based No. 749, 750, 752 and 793 Naval Air Squadrons atPiarco International Airport on Trinidad. British troops occupied Aruba, Curaçao and Bonaire soon after theNetherlands were captured byNazi Germany. The French island ofMartinique was perceived as a possible base forAxis ships as British relationships withVichy France deteriorated following theSecond Armistice at Compiègne. The September 1940Destroyers for Bases Agreement enabled the United States to build airfields inBritish Guiana, and on the islands ofGreat Exuma, Trinidad,Antigua, andSaint Lucia. On 11 February 1942, United States forces replaced British soldiers on the Dutch refinery islands and began operatingDouglas A-20 Havocs from Hato Field on Curaçao and Dakota Field on Aruba.[8]
The first offensive against the Caribbean refineries was organised under the command ofKapitänleutnant (lieutenant)Werner Hartenstein aboardU-156 with andU-502,U-67,U-129, andU-161. The first three U-boats launched simultaneous attacks on 16 February 1942.U-502 sank crude oil tankersMonagas,Tia Juana andSan Nicholas betweenLake Maracaibo and Aruba.U-67 enteredWillemstad harbour on Curaçao and torpedoed three oil tankers. The four torpedoes from the bow tubes were duds, but the stern tube torpedoes sankRafaela.U-156 entered San Nicolas harbour on Aruba and torpedoed oil tankersPedernales,Oranjestad andArkansas.U-156 then attempted to shell the Aruba refinery with its10.5 cm SK C/32 naval gun; but the gun barrel burst when the first shell exploded because the gun crew failed to remove thetampion.[9] The Germans slightly damaged a large storage tank. A Venezuelangunboat,General Urdaneta, assisted in rescuing the crews of several torpedoed vessels; and A-20 Havoclight bombers attacked all three U-boats unsuccessfully; Resulting in an increased American occupation of the island began for its protection.[10][11]
U-161 entered Trinidad'sGulf of Paria on 18 February to torpedoMokihama and the oil tankerBritish Consul. As the U-boats settled into routine patrolling,U-67 torpedoed oil tankersJ.N.Pew andPenelope;U-502 torpedoed oil tankersKongsgaard,Thallia andSun;U-156 torpedoedDelplata and oil tankerLa Carriere;U-161 torpedoedLihue and oil tankersCircle Shell,Uniwaleco andEsso Bolivar; andU-129 torpedoedGeorge L. Torrain,West Zeda,Lennox,Bayou,Mary,Steel Age and the oil tankerNordvangen. TheU-156 crew usedhacksaws to cut off the damaged portion of the gun barrel; and, whenU-156 ran out of torpedoes, used their sawn-offdeck gun to sinkMacgregor and the oil tankerOregon. On 10 MarchU-161 enteredCastries harbour on Saint Lucia to torpedoHMCS Lady Nelson andUmtata. After leaving Saint Lucia,U-161 torpedoedSarniadoc and sank theUnited States Coast Guard lighthouse tenderUSCGC Acacia with gunfire.[12]
Five Italian submarines patrolled the Atlantic side of the Lesser Antillies during Operation Neuland.Morosini torpedoedStangarth and oil tankersOscilla andPeder Bogen.Enrico Tazzoli torpedoedCygnet and the oil tankerAthelqueen.Giuseppe Finzi torpedoedSkane and oil tankersMelpomere andCharles Racine.Italian submarine Leonardo da Vinci torpedoedEverasma and the neutral BrazilianCabadelo.Luigi Torelli torpedoedScottish Star and the oil tankerEsso Copenhagen.U-126 was simultaneously patrolling theWindward Passage betweenCuba andHispaniola torpedoingGunny,Barbara,Cardona,Texan,Olga,Colabee, and oil tankersHanseat andHalo between 2 March and 13 March.[13]U-504 moved south from Florida.[14]
A German submarine shelled the Puerto Rican island ofMona, some forty miles west of the mainland ofPuerto Rico, on March 3, 1942. No damage or casualties resulted.[15]
An oil refinery onCuraçao was shelled on 19 April 1942 byU-130 underKorvettenkapitän (lieutenant commander)Ernst Kals. The small engagement ended in a German failure. Kals ordered the shelling of several petroleum storage tanks but after only five shots, a Dutch shore battery responded which forced him to abort. Later a German U-boat attacked a merchant ship off Curaçao and was engaged by Dutch anti-aircraft and naval gun batteries but again the submarine escaped unharmed.[1]
German submarines sank two Dominican merchant marine ships in May 1942, after theDominican Republic entered World War II on the side of the Allies.[16]
SS Norlantic was an American-flagged, 3,860 GRTcargo ship that was sunk on the morning of 13 May in the Caribbean by a U-boat. She was transporting a load of random cargo fromPensacola, Florida to Venezuela when attacked byU-69 90 mi (78 nmi; 140 km) east ofBonaire. At 03:38,U-69—under the command ofKptlt.Ulrich Graf—fired two torpedoes from a surfaced position. Both torpedoes missed, so Graf ordered his crew to close the range to 2,200 yd (2,000 m) and to open fire with the deck gun at 03:47.U-69 began shellingNorlantic as she attempted to flee the scene. After several hits the American ship signaled the Germans to cease fire so they could escape the inferno in their life-rafts. The Germans failed to hold their fire while two lifeboats were lowered, then at 04:11 they fired acoup de grâce which hitNorlantic's boiler room. She sank, taking six men down with her, two men were killed by the torpedo and four men killed from the shelling.Norlantic's surviving crew were then adrift at sea for several days before being rescued by Allied ships.
German U-boats sank two Mexican tankers,Potrero del Llano on 14 May byReinhard Suhren'sU-564 off Florida, andFaja de Oro on 21 May byHermann Rasch'sU-106 offKey West. Sixteen men died in the two attacks. This promptedMexico to declare war on Germany on 22 May 1942.
SSSylvan Arrow was a tanker of theStandard Oil and Transportation Company duringWorld War II whenU-155torpedoed her. The attack occurred on 20 May just southwest ofGrenada in the Caribbean Sea. Attempts to tow her to port did not succeed, and she sank on 28 May, at position 12° 50' north, 67° 32' west.
The tankerSS Hagan was sunk byU-157 on 11 June about 5 mi (4.3 nmi; 8.0 km) north of the Cuban coast. The American ship holding thousands of barrels of molasses was hit in the engine room. The torpedo destroyed the engines and caused a boiler to explode and a moment later another torpedo hit the ship. Six men were killed and 38 survivors made it to shore. Two days later,U-157 was sunk byUSCGC Thetis.
.jpg){kind=icon}
U-171 attacked the 6,511 GRT Mexican tankerSS Amatlan on 4 September at the position 23°27′N 97°30′W / 23.45°N 97.5°W / 23.45; -97.5. The Mexicans evaded three attacks of two torpedoes each before being hit by one in a final spread.Amatlan sank with 10 men and another 24 sailors survived.
On 11 September,U-514—underKptlt. Hans-Jürgen Auffermann—torpedoed the armed Canadian steam merchantSS Cornwallis off the coastline ofBridgetown. The ship sank in shallow waters after a short exchange, but was raised and towed toTrinidad in December 1942 and later towed toMobile, Alabama, arriving on 24 January 1943. The ship was repaired and returned to service in August 1943, but was torpedoed a second time, this time byU-1230 on 3 December 1944 in theGulf of Maine, and sank.[17][18][19]
On 5 July 1943, 70 mi (61 nmi; 110 km) to the west ofPort-Salut,Haiti,U-759 encountered the American-flagged steamerMaltran, which was part ofConvoy GTMO-134.U-759 fired torpedoes and at least one hit the vessel.Maltran sank within 15 minutes of being hit, though all of her crew survived and escaped the danger in lifeboats.The crew was later rescued byUSS SC-1279. On 7 July,U-759 torpedoed the Dutch cargo shipPoelau Roebiah, inConvoy TAG-70. The ship sank just east ofJamaica, taking down two men. Sixty-eight others were rescued. After sinkingPoelau RoebiahU-759 was chased down and attacked by the U.S. Navy the following day. APBM Marinerflying boat first dropped a load of explosives over the sub, and then for seven hours American surface vessels depth charged the area, butU-759 escaped without damage or loss of life.
U-157 was sunk on 13 June 1942 by the U.S. Coast Guard. The U-boat was surface cruising just southwest of Key West, in position24°13′N82°03′W / 24.217°N 82.050°W /24.217; -82.050, when sighted byUSCGC Thetis. The German submarine submerged and attempted to flee butThetis gained sonar contact and began adepth charge attack. After several minutes, the action ended when debris and oil were spotted by the Coast Guard crew.Thetis sankU-157.
Seven days after escaping attacking Allied ships off Haiti on 8 July 1943,U-759 was reported sunk; post war research discovered it was not until an attack on 23 July that she was actually destroyed. An American PBM Mariner at the approximate position of15°58′N73°44′W / 15.967°N 73.733°W /15.967; -73.733 bombed[clarification needed] and sank the boat.
German submarine U-158 off Bermuda at Coordinates:32°50′N67°28′W / 32.833°N 67.467°W /32.833; -67.467 on 30 June 1942 was sunk by aMartin PBM Mariner commanded by Richard Schreder. A depth charge struck the deck of the submarine, but did not explode on impact; it merely lodged in the teak planking. However, as the U-boat submerged, the charge detonated after the sub carried it down to its pre-set trigger depth.
The freighterSSRobert E. Lee was under escort by the American patrol chaserUSS PC-566 45 mi (39 nmi; 72 km) south of theMississippi River Delta on 30 July 1942. Suddenly, a torpedo hitLee, andPC-566 discovered the attackingU-166.PC-566 launched depth charges at the submarine and sank her though it was not until after the war sinking was confirmed.
On 28 August,U-94 was in operation against convoy TAW 15 offHaiti when attacked by American and Canadian escorts. First, an AmericanPBY swooped down and bombed the U-boat, and then CanadiancorvettesHMCS Halifax andSnowberry attacked.HMCS Oakville fired depth charges which forced the submarine to the surface. The corvette then rammedU-94 twice before it slowed to a stop.Hal Lawrence led a boarding party of eleven sailors fromOakville to capture the boat. They boarded the vessel and entered through the conning tower. Only two Canadians actually went through the hatch, they were surprised by two Germans who came running towards them. After ordering halt, the Canadians fired and killed the attacking Germans when they failed to stop. The rest of the crew surrendered without incident. After just barely capturing the vessel, the Canadian sailors realized the Germans had already scuttled the boat and it was taking on water. The Canadians leftU-94 and she sank with nineteen of her crew;Oakville rescued 26, including the commander,Oberleutnant zur See Otto Ites.[20]
U-162 was detected and sunk northeast ofTrinidad by theRoyal Navy on 3 September. Three British destroyers—HMS Vimy,Pathfinder andQuentin—attackedU-162 with depth charges, killed two Germans and sank the boat. Forty-nine additional sailors survived and becameprisoners of war in the U.S. The crew was interrogated and provided valuable information to theU.S. Army[citation needed] Intelligence about U-boats and their submarine base at Lorient. The German skipper—Kptlt.Jürgen Wattenberg—escaped in late 1944 before being recaptured a month or so later.
On 15 May 1943, the Cuban freightersCamaguey andHonduran Hanks were being escorted by three smallCuban Navysubmarine chasers fromSagua La Grande to Havana. The convoy was nearing Havana in the Gulf of Mexico when an American reconnaissance aircraft spotted a German U-boat. The aircraft dropped a smoke float overU-176, and the Cuban submarine chaserCS-13—underSecond LieutenantAlférez Delgado—picked up the enemy craft with sonar.CS-13 attacked with depth charges and quickly sank the U-boat which killed all of her crew.
The French submarine cruiserSurcouf was the largest submarine in the world at the time. An American report concluded the disappearance was due to an accidental collision with the American freighterThomas Lykes near the Atlantic side of the Panama Canal on 18 February 1942. There were no survivors.[21]The investigation of the French commission concluded the disappearance was the consequence of misunderstanding. AConsolidated PBY, patrolling the same waters on the night of 18/19 February, could have attackedSurcouf believing her to be German or Japanese. This theory could have been backed by several elements.
SS George Calvert, a one-gunLiberty ship, was sailing off eastern Cuba when she was sunk byU-753 on 20 May 1942. Ten men were killed when three torpedoes slammed into her, sinking her within minutes. The surviving crew were captured by the Germans and interrogated before being freed in lifeboats. Three armed guards[clarification needed] were killed and the survivors made it to the Cuban shore.
On 23 June, the unarmedUSATMajor General Henry Gibbins was steaming alone almost 400 mi (350 nmi; 640 km) west of Key West, Florida, when she was attacked byU-158. Two torpedoes hit the coffee-ladenHenry Gibbins on her port side over the course of 20 minutes and she sank soon after. All of her 47 crew and 21 U.S. Army guards were rescued a day later.
SSStephen Hopkins was an armed American Liberty ship which fought during World War II. On 27 September,Stephen Hopkins was returning toSurinam fromCape Town when attacked by the auxiliary cruiserStier.Stephen Hopkins was ordered to stop by the Germans, the Americans refused, so they opened fire with their main battery. A lone 4 in (100 mm) gun and a fewmachine guns were then put in operation by the Americans and a short but violent battle was fought. Both vessels suffered casualties and by 10:00 the American ship had sunk.Stier was badly damaged as well and could no longer make steam, so her commander scuttled her less than two hours after defeating the American vessel.
.jpg)
The American gunboatUSS Erie was escortingConvoy TAG-20 in the Caribbean between Trinidad andGuantánamo Bay when attacked 10 miles south of Curaçao by a German U-boat in November 1942.U-163—underKurt-Eduard Engelmann—surfaced and fired three torpedoes atErie. The Americans spotted the submarine and the torpedoes, then took evasive maneuvers.Erie escaped two of them but was hit by the third and badly damaged. Her crew grounded her on the nearby shore and she burned for several hours before the flames were brought under control. American forces suffered seven killed and eleven wounded in the attack. Later,Erie was towed to Curaçao's Willemstad Harbor but capsized and sank on 5 December.
| Year | Ships | Tonnage |
|---|---|---|
| 1942 | 336 | 1,559,422 |
| 1943 | 35 | 177,945 |
| 1944 | 3 | 14,804 |