Black service in the US Navy during World War II

US Navy shipbuilding before World War II

This article is devoted to the study of shipbuilding programs of the US Navy, which made changes to the composition of the fleet. In turn, the doctrine of the Atlantic Fleet, which consists in escorting transatlantic convoys, has been studied.

In November 1921, under the chairmanship of US Secretary of State Charles Evans Hughes, a conference was convened to limit naval armaments. In accordance with the decision of this conference, the United States had to scrap six battlecruisers and seven battleships that were under construction, and two battleships launched. Thus, fifteen new battleships were to be scrapped. Three battleships (Colorado class with a displacement of 33.6 thousand tons) and eight heavy cruisers were left behind. The total tonnage of the new ships upon completion of construction would be 618 thousand tons. The number of personnel was set at 7.9 thousand officers and 100 thousand sailors. [1, p. 36]

On January 21, 1930, a conference of five maritime powers, convened at the initiative of the United States: the USA, Great Britain, France, Italy and Japan, opened in London; its main result was the confirmation of an agreement with Great Britain on the equality of navies. The principle of parity between the battle fleets of England and the United States was extended to other classes of warships. The ratio of the US and Japanese fleets was established: for battleships, aircraft carriers and heavy cruisers—10:6; for light cruisers, auxiliaries and smaller vessels it is 10:7, and for submarines it is equality.

In 1933, a new shipbuilding program was approved, which provided for the construction of destroyers, cruisers and aircraft carriers. Eight Atlanta-class light cruisers were designed and subsequently built. Designs for several different types of auxiliary vessels, including new squadron minesweepers, were transferred to shipyards, which began laying them down. Also at this time, the North Carolina class battleships were developed. The personnel was increased by 10 thousand people compared to 1921. [2, p. 44]

In June 1938, Great Britain, France and the United States signed a protocol according to which the maximum displacement of battleships was increased from 35,000 tons to 45,000 tons. Thus, the opportunity arose to build new types of battleships and aircraft carriers.

At the end of 1939, the US government began discussing a bill to increase the tonnage of Navy ships by approximately 25% compared to the total tonnage approved by the law of May 17, 1938. The bill was approved on June 14, 1940 [3, p. 4]

A month later, President Roosevelt signed the “Two Oceans Fleet” law, which provided for the construction of a fleet with a total displacement of 1,325 thousand tons, the acquisition or conversion of auxiliary vessels with a total displacement of 100 thousand tons, and the allocation of appropriations in the amount of $50 million for the construction of patrol and escort vessels ships, as well as various small ships of other classes. [4, p. 25]

The main forces of the US Navy for more than ten years were primarily located in the Pacific Ocean. [1, p. 36] However, in January 1939, a partial transfer of naval forces to the Atlantic Ocean began, as a result of which the Atlantic Squadron was created. In September 1939, the squadron consisted of four battleships of the old design (New York, Texas, Arkansas, Wyoming) under the command of Rear Admiral Alfred Johnson; a formation of heavy cruisers (San Francisco, Tuscaloosa, Quincy, Vincennes), commanded by Rear Admiral Pickens; a formation of destroyers consisting of 10 ships under the command of Captain Greenman and the aircraft carrier Ranger, on which aircraft from the aircraft carrier Wasp were also based. [4, p. 31]

This squadron became the core of the US Atlantic Fleet, of which Admiral Ernest King was appointed commander on February 1, 1941. Later, Ernest King headed the command of anti-submarine forces in the Atlantic - the so-called 10th Fleet. [5, p. 452]

By the time the war began, a US Navy unit (squadron “40-T”) was located in European waters, organized in September 1936 to evacuate Americans from Spain during the Civil War. On September 1, 1939, this squadron (commanded by Rear Admiral Charles Courtney) included the light cruiser Trenton, the destroyers Badger and Jacob Jones, and one auxiliary ship. On October 22, 1940, this unit was disbanded due to a lack of ships to patrol the US neutral zone.

The first consequence of the war in Europe for the US Navy was President Roosevelt's order of September 5, 1939, establishing a neutral zone around the American continent and organizing patrol services in this zone.

In September 1939, the Panama Congress was convened to determine the war strategy of the American republics. On October 2, 1939, an act of Congress was published stating that it was the uniform policy of all American republics to prevent the spread of war to the Western Hemisphere. But since none of these republics, with the exception of the United States, had a sufficient number of warships, the task of protecting the territorial waters of the American republics was entrusted to the US Navy. [6, p. 410]

In October, a permanent patrol area was established with the participation of US Coast Guard ships, limited to a line extending approximately 200 miles from the coast through the Bahamas and Antilles to Trinidad. [6, p. 413]

In January 1940, a strike group under the command of Rear Admiral Pickens, based in Norfolk, began to guard the area enclosed in the Norfolk-Island triangle. Bermuda - St. Thomas.

During the summer of 1940, President Roosevelt held a number of other events. The most important of them were: the transfer of old destroyers to England in exchange for receiving naval bases and the organization of negotiations between the headquarters of the United States and England. [4, p. 30] England transferred to the United States for 99 years sovereign rights to naval, military and air bases in the Bahamas, on the island. Jamaica, Antigua, St. Lucia, Trinidad and British Guiana in exchange for 50 old American destroyers built during or shortly after World War I. This solved the problem of a lack of naval bases for the United States, which in turn allowed the US Navy to improve the security of convoys.

In August 1940, President Roosevelt had a meeting with Canadian Prime Minister Mackenzie King. They were accompanied by military and naval advisers in order to comprehensively discuss all issues and establish the share of participation of each state in the defense of the Western Hemisphere. As a result of these negotiations, the US-Canadian Cooperative Defense Pact of the Western Hemisphere was signed, which provided the US Navy with the opportunity to use bases in the coastal provinces of Canada. [2, p. 48]

On January 29, 1941, secret negotiations began in Washington between representatives of the American and British headquarters. The negotiations were attended by representatives of the commander of naval operations and the commander of the US General Staff, on the one hand, and representatives of the British headquarters, on the other. Representatives of the US Navy were Rear Admiral Gormley, Rear Admiral Richmond Turner, Captain A. J. Kirk, Captain Dewitt Ramsay and Lieutenant Colonel O. T. Pfeiffer (US Marine Corps). Representatives of the Army General Staff: Major General S. D. Embick, Brigadier Generals Sherman Miles and L. T. Gerow, and Colonel J. T. McNarney. [7, p. 58] Representatives of the British armed forces: Rear Admiral R. M. Bellairs, Rear Admiral V. H. Danckwerts, Major General E. L. Morris, Air Vice-Marshal J. S. Slessor and Captain Clark. [4, p. 30–31]

The objectives of these meetings were as follows:

a) development of the most effective measures that should have been taken by the United States and England to defeat Germany and its satellites if the United States were forced to enter the war;

b) coordinating plans for the use of American and British armed forces in the event of the United States entering the war;

c) developing agreements regarding the basic line of military strategy, responsibilities and levels of command if the United States enters the war. [4, p. 38]

Meetings were held daily or in plenary sessions from January 29 to March 27, 1941 [2, p. 49] The result was the conclusion of an agreement known as ABC-1, which reflected the basic principles of Anglo-American cooperation during the war. It, firstly, provided for cooperation between navies in the Atlantic on the basis of the Lend-Lease law and the pursuit of a policy aimed at maintaining Japan's neutrality in the Pacific. Secondly, it provided for full military cooperation if the United States were drawn into war as a result of the aggressive actions of the Axis powers.

At the same time, an agreement with Canada, ABC-2, was concluded in Washington on the joint defense of Canada and the United States. It was included in the ABC-1 agreement. A characteristic feature of these treaties was the approval of the main strategic concept of the Second World War, which consisted in the decision to defeat Hitler first. [8, p. 5] The main task of the US Navy was to protect convoys and sea communications on the Atlantic Ocean, while the British Navy was to provide security for shipping in the Mediterranean Sea. In addition to the defense of military and naval bases, US naval aviation was supposed to participate in offensive operations together with the British Air Force. Each British base was placed at the disposal of US aviation and naval forces and vice versa. Thus, the scope of US involvement in World War II was outlined in Washington by March 27, 1941. However, most of this agreement, reached between the headquarters of England and the United States, was to come into force only when the United States took part in the war as a belligerent power. No agreement was made regarding the time and conditions under which the United States would enter the war.

The US Atlantic Fleet was to assume primary responsibility for guarding transatlantic merchant shipping convoys as soon as it was able to handle this task. Taking on new functions of escorting convoys forced the US Navy to change the basic strategy for waging war at sea and the control system of naval formations in the Atlantic. Around March 1, 1941, active preparation of ships for anti-submarine warfare began in Norfolk and New London. It was decided to create mobile formations consisting of approximately 25–30 destroyers and 4 squadrons (each with 12 Catalina aircraft), as well as a significant number of minesweepers and escort aircraft carriers. In the future, such formations will prove themselves well in anti-submarine warfare.

In June 1941, the plan to escort convoys of merchant ships with support forces along the entire route from the United States to England was canceled and replaced by another plan, which provided for the dispersal of support ships along the convoy route in the Iceland and North Atlantic areas. This option, approved by both the Admiralty and the US Navy Department, was more acceptable from the point of view of savings in administrative costs and operational management. [9, p. 8–9]

Thus, we can conclude that in the United States, in the period from 1921 to 1941, serious work was carried out to increase the navy, which was aimed at ensuring the security of the United States in the brewing new war. Subsequently, these shipbuilding programs helped the United States government successfully conduct maritime operations.

Literature:

1. Henry JR The Truth about the Navy // The Outlook. November 25, 1931. P. 35–37

2. Our New Army // Cooler's Weekly. September 13, 1941. P. 40–51

3. Wright J. The Rebirth of the United States Navy // The Literary Digest. July 15, 1933. P. 3–4

4. Morison S. E. The American Navy in the Second World War. Fleet of two oceans. Ekaterinburg. 1998. 254 p.

5. Zalessky K. A. Who is who in the Second World War. USSR and allies. M.: 2010. 780 p.

6. Furer JA Administration of the Navy Department in World War II. Washington. 1959. 1087 p.

7. Hosh WL World War II: People, Politics and Power. NY 2000. 261 p.

8. General Marshall Reports // Yank Magazine. October 1, 1943. P. 4–5

9. Albion RG The American Navy in War and Peace//The Saturday Review. November 13, 1943. P. 7–14.

US Navy 240 years old. History and modernity

On October 13, 2015, the United States celebrated the 240th anniversary of its Navy. Over the historical period of its existence, the US Navy has gone from three armed sailing commercial ships to the most powerful fleet in the world. Currently, the United States is actually demonstrating the formula for the naval power of the world's main naval power of the 19th century - Great Britain: the US fleet is more than twice as strong as the next two navies in the world - the Russian Federation and China. The tonnage of the US Navy is 3.1 million tons, and the fleets of the Russian Federation and China are 1.2 million tons.

The creation of the US Navy at the time of its founding in the context of revolutionary war caused intense controversy. Many members of Congress were against the formation of a "Continental Navy." This would distract from the war effort on land. Delegates from the southern states generally considered the idea too radical and did not see the benefit of a navy for protecting merchant shipping and ports. The British fleet already dominated the Atlantic Ocean to such an extent. The most ardent supporter of the creation of the fleet was Bostonian John Adams , the future first vice president of the United States and the second American president after George Washington . In Congress, Adams was unconditionally supported by representatives of only the smallest state - Rhode Island. While Congress was debating the navy, the commander of the rebel army, General George Washington, secretly determined the military functions for three commercial ships and notified Congress of this. Washington's letter reached Congress on October 13, 1775. This date is considered the founding day of the US Navy.

At its founding, the US Navy received purely cruising missions. His goal was not to defeat the British at sea. The US frigates were supposed to disrupt the maritime supply lines of the British Expeditionary Force and lift the morale of the opposing American army. But only.

In 1794, the US Congress passed the Naval Act, which provided for the construction of six frigates. During the first half of the 19th century, the US Navy was limited mainly to the protection of its merchant shipping. At the same time, the US Navy conducted its first major military operations far from the shores of America in the Mediterranean Sea during the First Barbary War (1801-1805) against the so-called pirates. "Barbary Coast" - Algeria, Tunisia and Tripolitania.

The impetus for the technical and operational development of the US Navy was given by the Civil War between North and South of 1861-1865. A symbolic harbinger of US naval power was the first battle of the battleships Merrimack and Monitor at Hampton Roads in March 1862 and the cruising raid of the sloop Alabama (1862-1864). The most modern combat ships of the industrial era and naval tactics were first tested by the Americans.

Since the early 1890s, the US Navy has moved from tasks of protecting merchant shipping to tasks of establishing US hegemony in the Western Hemisphere - this is the “gunboat policy” in Latin America and a consequence of the defeat of the Spanish fleet of the US Navy during the Spanish-American War of 1898. The gunboat policy foreshadowed modern U.S. Navy "police" operations. As a result of the Spanish War, the US Navy guaranteed hegemony in the Caribbean, the annexation of Hawaii in the central Pacific Ocean and the consolidation of the US Navy on the Asian edge of the Pacific Ocean in the Philippines. The commissioning of the Panama Canal, strategic for the United States, in 1914 ensured the operational connectivity of the US Pacific and Atlantic fleets. On the threshold of the new century, American strategic planners were already actively engaged in developing doctrines of naval dominance on the two oceans of the planet - the Atlantic and the Pacific.

After the First World War, without direct participation in its military operations at sea, the US Navy in naval power became equal to the British Navy, which had previously dominated the seas and oceans for two centuries. The Washington Naval Treaty of 1922 established, through restrictions, the equality of the navies of the United States and Great Britain. This was the United States' decisive bid for global naval hegemony. During World War II, the US Navy in the Pacific achieved the defeat of the Japanese Navy, and in the Atlantic, through its escort ships and aircraft, it guaranteed communications with Great Britain and the European Theater of Operations. The US Navy, together with the British Royal Navy, conducted a series of the largest amphibious operations in history in North Africa (1942), Sicily and Italy (1943), Normandy and the south of France (1944).

World Wars I and II demonstrated the capabilities of the US Navy to massively transfer American military forces to another continent. These were transoceanic military expeditions unprecedented in history in their size and scope.

After World War II, the US Navy became global during the Cold War and became the most powerful navy on the planet. It is thanks to its dominance of the seas that the scale and influence of the United States as a world power are unique. The United States not only controls the world's strategically important oceans and seas through its Navy, but has also created, through its Marine Corps (MCC), a compelling military capability for coastal control by amphibious forces, allowing it to exercise its power on land on another continent with greater political opportunity. .

Ultimately, it was the US Navy, in confirmation of the concept of “sea power”, that became the main instrument of US geopolitical dominance on the planet, and the Marine Corps became the vanguard of transoceanic expeditionary forces - one of the practical tools for the US to perform the function of the world gendarme. It is the US Navy that primarily ensures connectivity between US military bases in different areas of the planet. US naval power is critical to the global movement of US forces. Ultimately, in the military field, the United States, through its Navy, has unparalleled global capabilities for deploying land military operations.

America's global naval presence requires maintaining the combat capability of the three U.S. maritime services to deter potential adversaries and to fight and win if necessary.

The global naval presence of the United States is essential for strengthening military-political alliances and partnerships, providing security for the US-controlled economic system based on the global flow of goods, protecting US access to the world's natural resources. U.S. naval power is maintained in an era when global maritime trade is expanding, populations are expanding, and competition for access to the planet's energy and natural resources is intensifying.

The oceans are a source of strength for the United States and its allies. About 70% of the planet's population lives within the coastal region, that is, within a 100-kilometer zone from the sea coastline. This population can be controlled through the IUD. 90% of world trade is carried out through maritime transport. There is a forecast that maritime trade will double over the next 15 years. In addition, most types of maritime activity - commercial shipping, fishing and offshore oil and gas production - take place within a two-hundred-mile zone off the sea coast. US control of the seas and oceans is a guarantee of control over the global economy and trade.

Naval power remains the critical foundation of the national power, prosperity, and international prestige of the United States of America. The US Constitution contains a separate clause requiring Congress to “support the Navy.” The modern US Navy is, figuratively speaking, a navy on which the sun never sets.

The U.S. maritime force has historically been organized, trained, and equipped to perform four primary missions: deterrence, sea control, power projection, and maritime security. The U.S. Navy's naval power projection includes conventional strikes against targets ashore, integrated kinetic and non-kinetic strikes against enemy forces, forward force operations, raids, and all forms of amphibious operations. Naval strike forces led by aircraft carriers, surface ships and other vessels, and submarines provide sea-based strike capabilities from long distances against the enemy. The maritime component of the strategic triad carries out global strategic deterrence. Power projection refers to the U.S. Navy's ability to provide strategic sealift and logistics capabilities to U.S. forces anywhere in the world.

The global projection of US naval power is specifically carried out by forward-deployed naval forces. This is about a third and the best of the existing ship composition of the US Navy. Forward-deployed ships and formations are used to maneuver forces across the oceans, to provide access to foreign regions anywhere in the world's oceans, to protect key U.S. interests in those areas, and to prevent US adversaries from using the world's oceans against them.

In the near future, it is planned that by 2022, 60% of the ships and aircraft of the forward-based forces of the US Navy will be kept in the same waters of the Pacific and Indian Oceans. Here, the forward-deployed US Navy operates jointly with US allies and partners. This further enhances the already powerful capabilities of the US Navy. Relationships with allies and partners make it cheaper for the United States to maintain its forward-deployed forces.

In the Indo-Asia-Pacific ocean region, US allies are: Australia, Japan, New Zealand, the Philippines, South Korea and Thailand. Partners are Bangladesh, Brunei, India, Indonesia, Malaysia, Micronesia, Pakistan, Singapore and Vietnam.

The main enemy of the United States in this area is China. The United States is seeking to contain China's naval expansion in the Indian and Pacific oceans.

The Straits of Hormuz and Malacca, as well as the Panama and Suez Canals, remain critical points for international maritime trade in the Indo-Asia-Pacific ocean basin. The United States intends to continue to exercise naval control over these strategic points in the region. The critical dependence of the world economy on the uninterrupted supply of oil and gas from the Middle East and Central Asia forces the United States to maintain a large forward-based group of American naval forces in the Middle East.

As for the projection of US naval power onto Europe, it is carried out through the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO). Here the US Navy actively participates in NATO missions. Of particular importance to the United States is naval cooperation in Europe with Great Britain and France. U.S. NATO allied navies operating in Europe are ideally suited to conduct joint operations based on rapid, flexible maritime response in Europe, Africa, the Levant, and Southwest Asia.

The Arctic is becoming an area of ​​priority interests for the United States in the modern era. Ensuring activities in the Arctic region requires the United States to have a wide range of allies and partnerships. New challenges will require the US Navy to further develop its ability to operate in the Arctic, including in ice conditions. The United States has been tasked with providing the Navy with modern icebreakers.

In terms of sustaining sea power, modern U.S. naval strategy requires maintaining its naval forces to the point of being able to defeat a single regional adversary in a large, multi-phase campaign. For these purposes, the US Navy plans to maintain a fleet of more than 300 ships, including 11 aircraft carriers, 14 SSBNs and 33 amphibious assault ships. These are the main striking forces of the fleet.

By 2022, the number of US Navy forward-deployed major combat units will be increased by 20% from the current 97 ships and submarines to 120 units. Among the new forward-deployed ships, special mention should be made of the commissioning in the coming years of four ships - frigates of the Aegis missile defense system, located at a base in Spain. It is obvious that the main purpose of these ships will be to neutralize the Strategic Missile Forces of the Russian Federation in the event of a military conflict.

14 Ohio-class SSBNs with high-precision Trident II (D5) SLBMs on board continue to remain the naval component of the American strategic triad in the US strategic deterrent system. The high firing range of Trident missiles allowed the US Navy to abandon the deployment of Ohio SSBNs in forward deployments. The Americans have begun work on replacing the Ohio series with 12 new generation SSBNs in 2022. The first boat of the new project will cost $9 billion, the subsequent ones in the series will cost $5 billion.

In 2015, the US Navy received the new Virginia-class multipurpose nuclear submarine SSN-785 John Warner. It will be based on the island of Guam in the Pacific Ocean.

Carrier strike groups remain the backbone of the US Navy. Their purpose is to project striking military force on a global scale. For example, we can compare the current operations of the Russian Federation and the United States in the Middle East in Syria and Iraq. To implement it, Russia had to equip a special aviation base in Syria. The United States simply deployed an aircraft carrier group of the 5th Fleet with the aircraft carrier Theodore Roosevelt at the scene of events. The Twelfth Air Strike Group, based on the aircraft carrier, is carrying out strikes against ISIS. Cruise missile strikes against targets in Syria and Iraq are carried out by the missile cruiser Normandy attached to the aircraft carrier. The security of the air group is provided by the guided missile destroyers Winston Churchill, Farragut and Forrest Sherman. With the dominance of the US Navy at sea, supplying the air group with everything necessary is not a problem.

Next year, the United States plans to commission one new air group with the newest aircraft carrier built, the Gerald Ford. The construction of this aircraft carrier cost the United States $12.8 billion. To this amount should be added the cost of five surface support ships and one submarine. A total of 6,700 sailors will serve on the Gerald Ford and escort ships. One day of use of the Gerald Ford air group will cost American taxpayers $2.5 million.

The US Navy celebrated its 240th anniversary with the completion of flight tests on the aircraft carrier USS Dwight Eisenhower, a fifth-generation fighter-bomber in the sea-launched version of the Lockheed F-35C. This is a universal multifunctional aircraft. Flight testing took place approximately 100 miles off the coast of Norfolk, Virginia, in crosswinds of approximately 40 knots and during night flights. The F-35C will in the near future become the main unified multi-role aircraft for the US carrier-based aircraft. The F-35C test program is now 80% complete and will be completed next summer. The US Navy will receive its first combat-ready squadron of F-35Cs at the end of 2022.

To enhance conventional maritime deterrence options, the U.S. Navy intends to work on next-generation aircraft carriers, surface ships, submarines and aircraft capable of long-range precision strikes, as well as increasing the reach of its future expeditionary forces.

American naval hegemony is currently being challenged by the uncontrolled proliferation of advanced military technologies around the world. Possession of them by a potential enemy makes it possible to threaten the US naval and air forces in a wide range, complicating their access to certain maritime regions and preventing free maneuvering in these regions and access to the shore. Threats to the US Navy include long-range ballistic and cruise missiles, integrated attitude control systems, forward-deployed submarines, smart mines, advanced integrated air defense systems, fifth-generation fighters with improved weapons, naval combat robots, electronic warfare (EW), cyber and space potentials. Critics of US naval construction point out that the amount spent on building the newest aircraft carrier, the USS Gerald Ford, could produce 1,200 state-of-the-art, long-range anti-ship missiles. Hitting an aircraft carrier with one such missile can put it out of action for a long time. Thus, a response by US naval power is entirely possible. It has long been noted that the current state of the fleet meets the requirements of past wars. The future challenges the US Navy. Therefore, modern military technologies, dangerous during hostilities, cause concern for American naval strategists in peacetime.

We can conclude. Confrontations with the US Navy at sea do not require a symmetrical response. To defeat the Americans at sea, and this is the basis of their global military power, it is not at all necessary to build two dozen attack aircraft carriers and several dozen nuclear submarines. An integrated military-space, air and underwater group, with the potential of not only kinetic, but also cyber and electromagnetic strikes against the American naval group, will not leave the slightest chance for the existence of enemy surface ships. The means of future naval warfare will go as high into the sky as space will allow, and as deep into the depths of the sea as the pressure of sea waters will allow. The future lies in sea and air robotics, “smart” cruise missiles, torpedoes and mines, and the ability to suppress the enemy in the electromagnetic sphere and cyberspace. The future belongs to cheap ships with container carriers. However, such a prospect in itself does not at all abolish the navy as part of the Armed Forces.

Be that as it may, in addition to modern naval equipment, the main strength of the US Navy remains its qualified personnel. On the one hand, high-quality military personnel of the US Navy, formed on a voluntary basis, are retained in service by creating material conditions. But, on the other hand, we are constantly talking about the moral obligation of US sailors, which personifies the naval profession itself. Responsibility and empowerment with a strong sense of law-abidingness is the ethos that the U.S. Navy strives to foster among sailors.

On the 240th anniversary of the US Navy, sailors were “delighted” with the news of a new naval uniform. On October 9, it became known about nine key changes in the uniform of military sailors since 2016. The main idea behind the new US Navy uniform is unisex. All types of uniforms, from training tracksuits to dress uniforms, will become absolutely the same for male and female naval sailors. No skirts! However, female sailors will be allowed to wear women's clutches of a certain cut and size while on duty. This is perhaps the only concession to gender in the new US Navy uniform.

* * *

Note: The United States Navy (USN) is one of the five branches of the United States military. The US Navy is divided into the following commands: Pacific Fleet, United States Naval Forces Command, Naval Forces Europe, Sealift Command. Operationally, the US Navy is divided into six fleets: Third, Fourth, Fifth, Sixth, Seventh, Tenth. The size of the Navy is approx. 320 thousand people. The US Navy has 286 ships and approx. 3.7 thousand aircraft.

The Marine Corps (USMC) consists of three combined arms divisions, three aviation divisions, three engineering support and logistics divisions, one reserve division, individual regiments and command and control units, communications, and its own intelligence. The size of the US Marine Corps is 200 thousand in service and 40 thousand in reserve. The purpose of the ILC is to operate outside the United States as expeditionary forces. The Marine Corps is one of the US Rapid Reaction Forces. The Navy and Marine Corps report to the US Navy Command.

Analytical editorial staff of EADaily

World War II Navy

This section provides information on the qualitative and numerical composition of the navies of the states that participated in the hostilities of the Second World War. In addition, data is provided on the fleets of some countries that officially occupied a neutral position, but actually provided assistance to one or another participant in the war. Ships that were unfinished or entered service after the end of the war were not taken into account. Vessels used for military purposes but flying a civilian flag were also not taken into account. Vessels transferred or received from one country to another (including under Lend-Lease agreements) were not taken into account, nor were captured or restored ships taken into account. For a number of reasons, data on lost landing ships and small ships, as well as boats, are given at minimum values ​​and in fact may be significantly higher. The same applies to ultra-small submarines. When describing the tactical and technical characteristics, data on the time of the last modernization or rearmament was given.

Characterizing warships as weapons of war at sea, it should be noted that the purpose of such a war was the struggle for sea communications, as a means for the largest, most massive transportation. Depriving the enemy of the opportunity to use the sea for transport, while at the same time making extensive use of it for the same purposes, is the path to victory in the war. To gain and use supremacy at sea, a strong navy alone is not enough; it also requires large commercial and transport fleets, conveniently located bases and government leadership with a maritime mindset. Only the totality of all this ensures sea power.

To fight the navy, you have to concentrate all your forces, and to protect merchant shipping, you have to divide them. The nature of military operations at sea constantly fluctuates between these two poles. It is the nature of military operations that determines the need for certain warships, the specifics of their weapons and tactics of use.

In preparing for war, the leading maritime states applied various military naval doctrines, but none of them turned out to be effective or correct. And already during the war, with the utmost effort, it was necessary not only to adjust them, but to radically change them to suit the planned military actions.

Thus, the British Navy, based on outdated ships of the interwar period, placed its main emphasis on large artillery ships. The German Navy was building a massive submarine fleet. The Royal Italian Navy built fast light cruisers and destroyers, as well as small submarines with low technical specifications. The USSR, trying to replace the Tsarist Navy, quickly built ships of all classes of outdated models, relying on the doctrine of coastal defense. The basis of the US fleet was made up of heavy artillery ships and outdated destroyers. France strengthened its fleet with light artillery ships with a limited range. Japan built battleships and aircraft carriers.

Fundamental changes in the structure of fleets also occurred with the massive introduction of radars and sonars, as well as the development of communications. The use of aircraft identification systems, control of artillery and anti-aircraft fire, detection of underwater, surface and air targets, and radio reconnaissance also changed the tactics of fleets. Large naval battles faded into oblivion, and the war with the transport fleet became a priority.

The development of weapons (the emergence of new types of carrier-based aircraft, unguided missiles, new types of torpedoes, mines, bombs, etc.) allowed fleets to conduct independent operational and tactical military operations. The fleet was transformed from an auxiliary force of the ground forces into the main striking force. Aviation became an effective means of both fighting the enemy fleet and protecting one’s own.

Considering the course of the war in conjunction with technological progress, the development of fleets can be characterized as follows. At the initial stage of the war, the ever-increasing German submarine fleet actually blocked the sea communications of Great Britain and its allies. To protect them, a significant number of anti-submarine ships were required, and their equipment with sonar turned submarines from hunters into targets. The need to protect large surface ships, convoys and ensure future offensive operations required the massive construction of aircraft carriers. This characterizes the middle stage of the war. At the final stage, to conduct mass landing operations in both Europe and the Pacific, an urgent need arose for landing craft and support vessels.

All these problems could be solved only by the United States, whose powerful economy during the war years turned its allies into debtors for many years, and the country into a superstate. It should be noted that deliveries of ships under Lend-Lease agreements took place as part of the rearmament of the United States, i.e. the allies were given outdated ships, with low performance characteristics or without proper equipment. This applied equally to all recipients of assistance, incl. both the USSR and Great Britain.

It is also necessary to mention that both large and small US ships differed from ships of all other countries in the presence of comfortable living conditions for the crews. If in other countries, when building ships, priority was given to the quantity of weapons, ammunition, and fuel reserves, then American naval commanders put the comfort of the crew on a par with the requirements for the combat qualities of the ship.

Estimated number of fleets by country and type of ship (excluding transferred/received)

Table continuation

The total number of military fleets of 42 countries (possessing military fleets or at least one ship) that took part in World War II was 16.3 thousand ships, of which, according to incomplete data, at least 2.6 thousand were lost. In addition, The fleet included 55.3 thousand small ships, boats and landing craft, as well as 2.5 thousand submarines, excluding midget submarines.

The five countries with the largest fleets were: the USA, Great Britain, USSR, Germany and Japan, which had 90% of warships of the total number, 85% of submarines and 99% of small and landing craft.

Italy and France, with large fleets, as well as smaller ones, Norway and the Netherlands, were unable to effectively manage their ships, sinking some of them and becoming the main suppliers of trophies to the enemy.

It is possible to determine the significance of types of ships in military operations only taking into account the stages of the war. Thus, at the initial stage of the war, submarines played a dominant role, blocking enemy communications. In the middle stage of the war, the main role was played by destroyers and anti-submarine ships, which suppressed enemy submarine fleets. In the final stage of the war, aircraft carriers with support ships and landing ships took first place.

During the war, a merchant fleet with a tonnage of 34.4 million tons was sunk. At the same time, submarines accounted for 64%, aviation - 11%, surface ships - 6%, mines - 5%.

Of the total number of warships sunk in the fleets, approximately 45% were attributed to aviation, 30% to submarines, and 19% to surface ships.

“In ten years, the Chinese Navy will be stronger than the US Navy. That's why Washington is mad."

“China's People's Liberation Army (PLA) drove away a US warship that intruded into Chinese territorial waters in the South China Sea on Thursday. This demonstrates its ability to protect national sovereignty and territorial integrity amid several other recent US actions in the region,” Chinese daily Global Times reported.

Our people in Havana. What did the USSR military do in Cuba?

“A whole hysteria arose in the Western expert-political environment after the simple refusal of the deputy...

January 22 11:01

US Navy ships have repeatedly appeared in the waters of the South China Sea in the past. It was reported that in January 2016, the guided-missile destroyer Curtis Wilbur appeared in the area of ​​the artificial island of Triton; in May 2022, the destroyer Higgins and the guided-missile cruiser Antietam passed 19 km from the Paracel Islands.

In September 2022, the Chinese Ministry of Defense announced an invasion of the territorial waters of the Paracel Islands by a US Navy guided missile destroyer. In August 2022, it was reported that the destroyer Mastin entered the South China Sea during a PLA exercise. In October 2020, the WeChat account Southern Combat Command Zone reported that the guided-missile destroyer USS John McCain had entered Chinese territorial waters near the Xisha Islands.

The Paracel Islands are an archipelago in the South China Sea, located 230 kilometers south of China and 200 kilometers east of Vietnam. The islands have been under Chinese control since 1974, but they are also claimed by Vietnam and Taiwan. China, considering these islands to be its own, has built a military infrastructure on them, including radar stations, naval and aviation bases.

According to the US Navy command, the presence of the destroyer Benfold in disputed waters was intended to show the fleet's commitment to respecting international law and freedom of navigation. “The US Navy has not stopped its operations in the South China Sea, and this has been the case for more than a century,” the US Navy press service said.

“The United States is repeating the pattern - in the same way, together with Great Britain, they do not recognize the situation related to free passage in the Black Sea. They have chosen two enemies - China and Russia - and are taunting them by demonstrating their power and strength. The United States has enough forces, especially aircraft carriers: 11 ships, each with 95 aircraft,” former commander of the Black Sea Fleet, Admiral Vladimir Komoyedov, told Gazeta.Ru.

According to Alexander Khramchikhin, deputy director of the Institute of Political and Military Analysis, the United States and China are dividing spheres of influence in the South China Sea. “China is acting completely lawlessly, it is laying claims entirely to the entire South China Sea - it cannot all belong to it alone. The US defends freedom of navigation, but in reality it defends a sphere of influence. As for the potential, in general, the US Navy is still stronger there than the Chinese Navy, but in the waters adjacent to China, China is stronger,” the expert believes.

There are “Daggers”, but there are no “Zircons”. What is the Russian army armed with?

On January 20, the Unified Day of Acceptance of Military Products took place. It has been carried out by the Ministry of Defense since 2014...

21 January 19:14

Director of the Center for Comprehensive European and International Studies (CCEMI) of the Higher School of Economics Vasily Kashin told Gazeta.Ru that China claims control over all the islands in the South China Sea - it seeks to control 90% of its water area. “This sea is very important - it is the main artery of world trade, 25% of all trade in the world passes through it, it is of very great strategic importance. China is trying to require other states, including the United States, to comply with certain rules of conduct in the South China Sea, which include restrictions on military activity without Chinese consent,” the expert said.

Kashin noted that the United States, firstly, does not recognize these rules, and secondly, it does not recognize the boundaries of the exclusive economic zone and the boundaries of the territorial waters of some islands established by the Chinese. “To demonstrate that they do not recognize this, the United States is sending ships to demonstratively pass through these areas and perform certain maneuvers. This leads to increased tension between the US and China,” the expert said.

Kashin emphasized that in the last few years, China has greatly outpaced the Americans in terms of the pace of naval construction - the Chinese Navy is already larger than the American Navy in terms of the number of ships. “China is inferior to the United States in aircraft carriers and nuclear submarines, but superior in many other respects. Every year it introduces into its fleet warships with a total displacement twice as large as that of the US Navy,” the expert said.

According to Kashin, there is an intense naval race in the Pacific Ocean, which involves China and the United States.

“In ten years, the Chinese Navy will objectively be stronger than the US Navy. That's why Washington gets mad and creates provocations. China's exclusive claim to rights in the South China Sea does raise questions, to say the least. But if he confirms his rights by force, the rest will have to come to terms,”

– says military political scientist, associate professor at RANEPA Valery Volkov.

Submarines | USA

Submarine "O-6" (SS-67)

Submarine "O-2" (SS-63)

Submarine "O-8" (SS-69)

From the series of medium submarines of the “O” type, by the beginning of the war, 8 units remained in service (“R-1” - “R-7”, “R-9”), built at the Puget Sound N Yd and Fore River shipyards "and commissioned in 1918. The submarines were used for training purposes. The “O-9” boat was lost in 1941, the rest were decommissioned in 1945. Performance characteristics of the boat: total surface displacement - 521 tons, underwater - 629 tons; length – 52.5 m, width – 5.5 m; draft – 4.2 m; immersion depth – 60 m; power plants – 2 diesel engines and 2 electric motors; power – 660/550 hp speed – 13 knots. fuel reserve - 88 tons of diesel fuel; cruising range - 5.5 thousand miles; crew – 25 people. Armament: 1x1 – 12.7 mm machine gun; 4 – 450 mm torpedo tubes; 8 torpedoes.

Submarine "R-4" (SS-81)

Engine compartment of the boat "R-14" (SS-91)

Submarine "R-12" (SS-89)

Of the series of medium-sized submarines of the “R” type, 19 units remained in service by the beginning of the war (“O-2” - “O-4”, “O-6” - “R-20”), built at the Union Iron Wks shipyards " and "Fore River" and commissioned in 1918-1919. 3 boats in 1941-1942. were transferred to Great Britain, 1 died in 1943, the rest were decommissioned in 1945. Performance characteristics of the boat: total surface displacement - 569 tons, underwater - 680 tons; length – 56.8 m, width – 5.5 m; draft - 4.4 m; immersion depth – 60 m; power plants – 2 diesel engines and 2 electric motors; power - 1.2/0.9 thousand hp. speed – 13 knots. fuel reserve - 75 tons of diesel fuel; cruising range - 4.7 thousand miles; crew - 29 people. Armament: 1x1 – 12.7 mm machine gun; 4 – 450 mm torpedo tubes; 8 torpedoes.

Submarine "R-18" (SS-95)

Submarine "S-13" (SS-118)

Submarine "S-17" (SS-122)

From the Navy Group of the S series, by the beginning of the war, 7 submarines remained in service (S-11 - S-17), built at the Portsmouth N Yd, Lake shipyards and commissioned in 1920-1923 The boats were decommissioned in 1944-1946. Performance characteristics of the boat: total surface displacement - 0.9 thousand tons, underwater displacement - 1.1 thousand tons; length – 70.4 m, width – 6.7 m; draft – 4 m; immersion depth – 60 m; power plants – 2 diesel engines and 2 electric motors; power – 1.4/1.2 thousand hp speed – 15 knots. fuel reserve - 148 tons of diesel fuel; cruising range - 5 thousand miles; crew - 38 people. Armament: 1x1 – 102 mm gun; 1x1 – 12.7 mm machine gun; 5 – 533 mm torpedo tubes; 14 torpedoes.

Submarine "S-22" (SS-127)

Submarine "S-24" (SS-129)

Submarine "S-32" (SS-137)

Submarine "S-26" (SS-131)

From the Holland Group of the S series, by the beginning of the war, 24 submarines remained in service (S-1, S-18, S-20 - S-41), built at the Fore shipyards River", "Bethlehem", "Union Iron Wks" and commissioned in 1920-1924. During the war, 6 boats were lost, 6 were transferred to Great Britain in 1941-1942, the rest were decommissioned in 1945-1946. Performance characteristics of the boat: total surface displacement - 0.9 thousand tons, underwater displacement - 1.1 thousand tons; length – 70 m, width – 6.3 m; draft – 4.8 m; immersion depth – 60 m; power plants – 2 diesel engines and 2 electric motors; power – 1.2/1.5 thousand hp. speed – 14 knots. fuel reserve - 168 tons of diesel fuel; cruising range - 3.4 thousand miles; crew - 38 people. Armament: 1x1 – 102 mm gun; 1x1 – 12.7 mm machine gun; 5 – 533 mm torpedo tubes; 12 torpedoes.

Submarine S-45 (SS-155)

Submarine "S-42" (SS-153)

The group of submarines "Second Holland Group" of the "S" series consisted of 6 units ("S-42" - "S-47") built at the Bethlehem shipyard and commissioned in 1924-1925. During the war, 1 boat was lost, the rest were decommissioned in 1945. Performance characteristics of the boat: total surface displacement - 0.9 thousand tons, underwater - 1.1 thousand tons; length – 68.7 m, width – 6.3 m; draft - 4.9 m; immersion depth – 60 m; power plants – 2 diesel engines and 2 electric motors; power – 1.2/1.2 thousand hp speed – 14 knots. fuel reserve - 168 tons of diesel fuel; cruising range - 2.5 thousand miles; crew - 38 people. Armament: 1x1 – 102 mm gun; 1x1 – 12.7 mm machine gun; 4 – 533 mm torpedo tubes; 12 torpedoes.

Submarine "S-48" (SS-159)

From the Second Navy Group of the S series, the S-48 submarine, built at the Lake shipyard and commissioned in 1922, remained in service at the beginning of the war. The boat was decommissioned in 1945. Performance characteristics of the boat: total surface displacement - 0.9 thousand tons, underwater - 1.1 thousand tons; length – 73.2 m, width – 6.6 m; draft – 4.1 m; immersion depth – 60 m; power plants – 2 diesel engines and 2 electric motors; power - 1.8/1.5 thousand hp. speed – 14.5 knots. fuel reserve - 177 tons of diesel fuel; cruising range - 8 thousand miles; crew - 38 people. Armament: 1x1 – 102 mm gun; 1x1 – 12.7 mm machine gun; 5 – 533 mm torpedo tubes; 14 torpedoes.

Submarine "Barracuda" (SS-163)

Submarine "Bonita" (SS-165)

Submarine "Bass" (SS-164)

The submarines Barracuda, Bass and Bonita were built at the Portsmouth N Yd shipyard and commissioned in 1924-1926. All boats were decommissioned in 1945. Performance characteristics of the boat: total surface displacement - 2.1 thousand tons, underwater - 2.5 thousand tons; length – 99.1 m, width – 8.4 m; draft – 4.6 m; immersion depth – 60 m; power plants – 2 diesel engines, 2 diesel generators and 2 electric motors; power - 6.2/2.4 thousand hp. speed - 18.7 knots; fuel reserve – 364 tons of diesel fuel; cruising range - 12 thousand miles; crew - 85 people. Armament: 1x1 – 76 mm gun; 2x1 – 20-mm anti-aircraft guns; 6 – 533 mm torpedo tubes; 12 torpedoes.

Submarine Argonaut (V-4)

The underwater minelayer Agronaut was built at the Portsmouth N Yd shipyard and commissioned in 1928. In 1940, diesel engines were replaced on the submarine, and from 1942 the boat was converted into a transport. The boat died in 1943. Performance characteristics of the boat: total surface displacement - 2.9 thousand tons, underwater - 4 thousand tons; length – 109.7 m, width – 10.3 m; draft - 4.9 m; immersion depth – 95 m; power plants – 2 diesel engines, 2 diesel generators and 2 electric motors; power - 6/2.2 thousand hp. speed - 13.7 knots. fuel reserve - 696 tons of diesel fuel; cruising range - 18 thousand miles; crew - 86 people. Armament: 1x1 – 152 mm gun; 2x1 – 7.6 mm machine gun; 4 – 533 mm torpedo tubes; 8 torpedoes; 60 min.

Submarine "V-5" (Narwhal)

Submarine "V-6" (Nautilus)

The submarines Narwhai and Nautilus were built at the Portsmouth N Yd, Mare Island N Yd shipyards and commissioned in 1930. In 1940, diesel engines were replaced on the submarines. Both boats were decommissioned in 1945. Performance characteristics of the boat: total surface displacement - 3 thousand tons, underwater - 4 thousand tons; length – 108.2 m, width – 10.1 m; draft – 5.2 m; immersion depth – 100 m; power plants – 2 diesel engines, 2 diesel generators and 2 electric motors; power - 6/1.6 thousand hp. speed - 17.4 knots. fuel reserve - 732 tons of diesel fuel; cruising range - 18 thousand miles; crew - 89 people. Armament: 1x1 – 152 mm gun; 2x1 – 12.7 mm machine gun; 6-10 – 533 mm torpedo tubes; 12 - 16 torpedoes.

Submarine "Dolphin" (SS-169)

The submarine was built at the Portsmouth N Yd shipyard and commissioned in 1932. The boat was re-equipped in 1934. Decommissioned in 1945. Performance characteristics of the boat: total surface displacement - 1.7 thousand tons, underwater - 2, 2 thousand tons; length – 97.3 m, width – 8.5 m; draft – 4 m; immersion depth – 75 m; power plants – 2 diesel engines, 2 diesel generators and 2 electric motors; power - 3.5/1.8 thousand hp. speed – 17 knots. fuel reserve - 412 tons of diesel fuel; cruising range - 6 thousand miles; crew - 63 people. Armament: 1x1 – 76 mm gun; 2x1 – 12.7 mm machine gun; 6 – 533 mm torpedo tubes; 18 torpedoes.

Submarine Cuttlefish (SS-171)

The submarines Cachalot and Cuttlefich were built at the Portsmouth N Yd and Electric Boat shipyards and commissioned in 1933-1934. In 1938, diesel engines were replaced on submarines. The boats were decommissioned in 1945-1946. Performance characteristics of the boat: total surface displacement – ​​1.1 thousand tons, underwater – 1.7 thousand tons; length – 80.8 m, width – 7.5 m; draft – 4.3 m; immersion depth – 75 m; power plants – 2 diesel engines and 2 electric motors; power – 3.1/1.6 thousand hp speed – 17 knots. fuel reserve - 333 tons of diesel fuel; cruising range - 9 thousand miles; crew - 51 people. Armament: 1x1 – 76 mm gun; 3x1 – 12.7 mm machine gun; 6 – 533 mm torpedo tubes; 16 torpedoes.

Submarine "Porpoise" (SS-172)

Submarine "Pike" (SS-173)

The P-class submarines Porpoise and Pike were built at the Portsmouth N Yd shipyard and commissioned in 1935. In 1938, diesel engines were replaced on the submarines. The boats were decommissioned in 1956. Performance characteristics of the boat: total surface displacement – ​​1.3 thousand tons, underwater – 1.9 thousand tons; length – 88.1 m, width – 7.6 m; draft – 4.3 m; immersion depth – 75 m; power plants – 4 diesel generators and 2 electric motors; power – 4.3/2.1 thousand hp speed – 19 knots. fuel reserve - 347 tons of diesel fuel; cruising range – 10 thousand miles; crew - 54 people. Armament: 1x1 – 76 mm gun; 2x1 – 20-mm anti-aircraft guns; 8 – 533 mm torpedo tubes; 18 torpedoes.

Submarine Tarpon (SS-175)

The Shark and Tarpon P-type submarines were built at the Electric Boat shipyard and commissioned in 1936. The Shark boat was lost in 1942, and the Tarpon was scrapped in 1956 Performance characteristics of the boat: total surface displacement - 1.3 thousand tons, underwater displacement - 2 thousand tons; length – 88.4 m, width – 7.6 m; draft – 4.6 m; immersion depth – 75 m; power plants – 4 diesel generators and 2 electric motors; power – 4.3/2.1 thousand hp speed - 19.5 knots. fuel reserve - 347 tons of diesel fuel; cruising range – 10 thousand miles; crew - 54 people. Armament: 1x1 – 76 mm gun; 2x1 – 20-mm anti-aircraft guns; 8 – 533 mm torpedo tubes; 18 torpedoes.

Submarine "Pompano" (SS-181)

The “P” type submarine series consisted of 6 units (“Perch”, “Pickerel”, “Permit”, “Plunger”, “Pollack”, “Pompano”), built at the Electric Boat and Portsmouth N Yd shipyards. , "Mare Island N Yd" and commissioned in 1936-1937. During the war, 3 boats were lost, the rest were written off in 1946-1947. Performance characteristics of the boat: total surface displacement – ​​1.3 thousand tons, underwater – 2 thousand tons; length – 89.2 m, width – 7.7 m; draft – 4.6 m; immersion depth – 75 m; power plants – 4 diesel generators and 2 electric motors; power – 4.3/2.4 thousand hp. speed - 19.3 knots. fuel reserve - 373 tons of diesel fuel; cruising range – 10 thousand miles; crew - 54 people. Armament: 1x1 – 76 mm gun; 2x1 – 20-mm anti-aircraft guns; 8 – 533 mm torpedo tubes; 18 torpedoes.

Submarine Salmon (SS-182)

Submarine Skipjack (SS-184)

Submarines "Salmon", "Seal", "Skipjack", "Snapper", "Stingray", "Sturgeon" were built at the shipyards "Electric Boat", "Portsmouth N Yd", "Mare Island N Yd" and commissioned in 1937-1938 The boats were decommissioned in 1945-1956. Performance characteristics of the boat: total surface displacement – ​​1.4 thousand tons, underwater – 2.2 thousand tons; length – 91.4 m, width – 8 m; draft – 4.8 m; immersion depth – 75 m; power plants – 4 diesel engines and 2 electric motors; power – 5.5/2.7 thousand hp speed – 21 knots. fuel reserve - 384 tons of diesel fuel; cruising range – 11 thousand miles; crew - 59 people. Armament: 1x1 – 76 mm or 102 mm or 127 mm gun; 2x1 – 20-mm anti-aircraft guns; 8 – 533 mm torpedo tubes; 24 torpedoes or 32 mines.

Submarine "Sailfish" (SS-192)

Submarine Sargo (SS-188)

Submarine Saury (SS-189)

Submarine Searaven (SS-196)

Submarine Seadragon (SS-194)

The submarines “Sargo”, “Saury”, “Spearfish”, “Sculpin”, “Sailfish”, “Swordfish”, “Seadragon”, “Sealion”, “Searaven”, “Seawolf” were built at the Electric Boat shipyards, “Portsmouth N Yd”, “Mare Island N Yd” and commissioned in 1939. During the war, 4 boats were lost, the rest were decommissioned in 1946-1948. Performance characteristics of the boat: total surface displacement – ​​1.4 thousand tons, underwater – 2.2 thousand tons; length – 92.2 m, width – 8.2 m; draft – 5 m; immersion depth – 75 m; power plants – 4 diesel engines and 2 electric motors; power – 5.5/2.7 thousand hp speed – 20 knots. fuel reserve - 428 tons of diesel fuel; cruising range – 11 thousand miles; crew - 59 people. Armament: 1x1 – 102 mm or 127 mm gun; 2x1 – 20-mm anti-aircraft guns; 8 – 533 mm torpedo tubes; 24 torpedoes or 32 mines.

Submarine Tambor (SS-198)

Submarine Triton (SS-201)

Submarine Tautog (SS-199)

Submarine Trout (SS-202)

Submarine "Grenadier" (SS-210)

The Tambor-class submarine series consisted of 12 units (Tambor, Tautog, Thresher, Triton, Trout, Tuna, Gar, Grampus, Grayback, Grayling ", "Grenadier", "Gudgeon"), built at the shipyards "Electric Boat", "Portsmouth N Yd", "Mare Island N Yd" and commissioned in 1940-1941. During the war, 7 boats were lost, the rest were written off in 1948-1959. Performance characteristics of the boat: total surface displacement - 1.5 thousand tons, underwater displacement - 2.4 thousand tons; length – 92.2 m, width – 8.3 m; draft – 4.6 m; immersion depth – 75 m; power plants – 4 diesel engines and 2 electric motors; power – 5.4/2.7 thousand hp. speed – 20 knots. fuel reserve - 385 tons of diesel fuel; cruising range – 11 thousand miles; crew – 60 people. Armament: 1x1 – 102 mm or 127 mm gun; 1x1 - 40mm or 1x1 - 20mm or 2x1 - 20mm anti-aircraft gun; 8 – 533 mm torpedo tubes; 24 torpedoes or 40 min.

Submarine "Mackerel" (SS-204)

The submarines "Mackerel" and "Marlin" were built at the Electric Boat shipyard, "Portsmouth N Yd" and commissioned in 1941. Both boats were decommissioned in 1945. Performance characteristics of the boat: total surface displacement - 0.9 thousand t., underwater – 1.2 thousand t.; length – 73 m, width – 6.7 m; draft – 4.3 m; immersion depth – 75 m; power plants – 4 diesel engines and 2 electric motors; power – 3.4/1.5 thousand hp speed – 16 knots: fuel reserve – 116 tons of diesel fuel; cruising range – 7 thousand miles; crew - 42 people. Armament: 1x1 – 127 mm gun; 2x1 – 20-mm anti-aircraft guns; 1x1 – 12.7 mm machine gun; 6 – 533 mm torpedo tubes; 12 torpedoes.

Submarine "Growler" (SS-215)

Submarine "Gato" (SS-212)

Submarine "Cod" (SS-224)

Submarine "Cero" (SS-225)

Submarine "Drum" (SS-228)

Submarine "Halibut" (SS-232)

Submarine Silversides (SS-236)

Submarine Wahoo (SS-238)

Submarine Cavalla (SS-244)

Submarine "Paddle" (SS-263)

Submarine Tullibee (SS-284)

Submarine Croaker (SS-246)

The Gato-class submarine series consisted of 73 units (SS-212 - SS-284), built at the Electric Boat, Portsmouth N Yd, Mare Island N Yd, and Manitowoc SB shipyards. and commissioned in 1941-1944. During the war, 20 boats were lost, 5 were converted into museums, the rest were decommissioned between 1946 and 1971. Performance characteristics of the boat: total surface displacement - 1.6 thousand tons, underwater displacement - 2.5 thousand tons; length – 95 m, width – 8.3 m; draft – 4.7 m; immersion depth – 90 m; power plants – 4 diesel engines and 2 electric motors; power – 5.4/2.7 thousand hp. speed – 20 knots; fuel reserve - 378 tons of diesel fuel; cruising range - 11 thousand miles; crew – 80 people. Armament: 1x1 – 76 mm or 102 mm gun; 2x1 - 20 mm anti-aircraft machine gun or 2x1 - 12.7 mm machine gun; 2x1 – 7.62 mm machine gun; 10 – 533 mm torpedo tubes; 24 torpedoes.

Submarine "Balao" (SS-285)

Submarine Bowfin (SS-287)

Submarine "Lionfish" (SS-298)

The cabin of the submarine "Batfish" (SS-310)

Torpedo compartment of the submarine "Batfish" (SS-310)

"Submarine Becuna (SS-319)"

Placement of spare torpedoes on the submarine "Becuna"

Loading a torpedo tube on the boat "Becuna"

Diesel engines of the boat "Becuna"

Submarine Clamagore (SS-343)

Diesel engine

Wardroom

Central control station

Submarine Pampanito (SS-383)

Anti-aircraft machine gun

Galley

Washbasin for boat “Pampanito”

The Balao-class submarine series consisted of 112 units (“SS-285” - “SS-302”, “SS-304” - “SS-345”, “SS-361” - “SS-377”, “SS -381" - "SS-415"), built at the shipyards "Electric Boat", "Portsmouth N Yd", "Cramp", "Mare Island N Yd", "Manitowoc SB" and commissioned in 1942-1944. During the war, 23 boats were lost, 41 were transferred or sold to 9 allied countries at the end of the war, 7 were converted into museums, the rest were decommissioned in 1960 - 1973. Performance characteristics of the boat: total surface displacement - 1.8 thousand tons, underwater displacement - 2.4 thousand tons; length – 92.2 m, width – 8.3 m; draft – 4.7 m; immersion depth – 120 m; power plants – 4 diesel generators and 2 electric motors; power - 5.4/2.7 thousand hp. speed – 20 knots. fuel reserve - 472 tons of diesel fuel; cruising range - 11 thousand miles; crew – 60 people. Armament: 1x1 - 102 mm or 127 mm gun; 2x1 – 20 mm or 40 mm anti-aircraft gun; 10 – 533 mm torpedo tubes; 24 torpedoes.

Submarine Trutta (SS-421)

Submarine "Tench" (SS-417)

The cabin of the submarine "Torsk" (SS-423)

Battery control station

Living compartment of the submarine "Torsk" (SS-423)

Central control station

Submarine "Irex" (SS-482)

From a series of submarines of the Tench type during the war, the construction of 19 units (SS-417 - SS-424, SS-475 - SS-486) ​​was completed at the Portsmouth N Yd shipyard and accepted commissioned in 1944-1945.
The boats were decommissioned, sold or transferred to allied countries in 1963-1973. The SS-423 boat was converted into a museum. Performance characteristics of the boat: total surface displacement - 1.8 thousand tons, underwater displacement - 2.4 thousand tons; length – 92.2 m, width – 8.3 m; draft – 4.7 m; immersion depth – 120 – 135 m; power plants – 4 diesel generators and 2 electric motors; power – 5.4/2.7 thousand hp. speed – 20 knots. fuel reserve - 378 - 472 tons of diesel fuel; cruising range - 11-12 thousand miles; crew – 60 people. Armament: 1-2x1 - 127 mm guns; 1x1 – 20 mm and 40 mm anti-aircraft gun; 10 – 533 mm torpedo tubes; 24 -28 torpedoes or 40 min. Share to: