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Navy News
 
“The only thing that ever really frightened me during the war was the U-boat peril.” Winston Churchill.
During the battle:
More than 2,000 merchant ships were lost to a submarine attack in the North Atlantic and more than 30,000 merchant seamen died as a result.
About 330 convoys in the Atlantic were attacked by U-boats.
565 escorts and 234 stragglers were sunk.
1,100 proceeding independently were also sunk.
96,977 crossings were completed successfully.
The commemorations centred on Liverpool over the early May bank holiday 2003 were the last large-scale event marking the Battle of the Atlantic supported by the Royal Navy.
Battle of the Atlantic commemorations
Battle of the Atlantic, Commemorations

Around 160,000 people, many of them veterans travelling from the four corners of the world, gathered on Merseyside to mark the 60th anniversary of the Battle of the Atlantic.

The weekend included a Service of Remembrance at the Anglican cathedral in Liverpool, and more than 100 veterans' associations were represented at various events.

Eleven ships from eight nations, including Russia, visited the city for the anniversary, with flagship HMS Invincible mooring on the River Mersey in the heart of the city.

This gallery gives a flavour of the anniversary commemorations.

More: View the gallery
Battle of the Atlantic - Timeline

The Battle of the Atlantic was the longest battle of World War II. World War II lasted for a total of 2,075 days. The Battle of the Atlantic lasted for 2,073 of these. It started with the sinking of the passenger liner Athenia on the day Britain and France declared war on Germany.

At the start of the war both the Royal Navy and the Kreigsmarine were unprepared. Britain used the convoy system evolved during World War I for merchant shipping but the RN did not have enough escort ships and aircraft. The Kreigsmarine had few battleships and cruisers. Only 39 of its U-boats were operational.

At the outbreak of war the only real threat to shipping was from surface raiders including the pocket battleships Deutschland and Admiral Graf Spee.

View the timeline : 1939 | 1940 | 1941 | 1942 | 1943 | 1944 | 1945