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Convoy OG 71
Convoy OG 71 was a trade convoy of merchant ships during the Second World War. It was the 71st of the numbered OG convoys Outbound from the British Isles to Gibraltar. The convoy departed Liverpool on 13 August 1941 and was found on 17 August by a Focke-Wulf Fw 200 ''Condor'' of Kampfgeschwader 40. Starting on August 19, it became the first convoy of the war to be attacked by a German submarine wolfpack, when reached by eight U-boats from 1st U-boat Flotilla, operating out of Brest. Ten ships comprising a total tonnage of 15,185 tons were sunk before the U-boats lost contact on 23 August. p. 78 Legacy This convoy was known as "Nightmare Convoy". Eight merchant ships, two naval escorts and over 400 people died, including 152 from the commodore's ship, (146 on August 19 and 6 survivors lost on August 22 when '' Empire Oak'' sank). The ''Aguila'' losses included the 22 ''"lost Wrens"'' (members of the Women's Royal Naval Service, or WRNS) who had volunteered for duties at Gibr ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
World War II
World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the world's countries participated, with many nations mobilising all resources in pursuit of total war. Tanks in World War II, Tanks and Air warfare of World War II, aircraft played major roles, enabling the strategic bombing of cities and delivery of the Atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, first and only nuclear weapons ever used in war. World War II is the List of wars by death toll, deadliest conflict in history, causing World War II casualties, the death of 70 to 85 million people, more than half of whom were civilians. Millions died in genocides, including the Holocaust, and by massacres, starvation, and disease. After the Allied victory, Allied-occupied Germany, Germany, Allied-occupied Austria, Austria, Occupation of Japan, Japan, a ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Wolfpack (naval Tactic)
The wolfpack was a convoy attack tactic employed in the Second World War. It was used principally by the U-boats of the during the Battle of the Atlantic, and by the submarines of the United States Navy in the Pacific War. The idea of a co-ordinated submarine attack on convoys had been proposed during the First World War but had had no success. In the Atlantic during the Second World War, the Germans had considerable successes with their wolfpack attacks but were ultimately defeated by the Allies. In the Pacific, the American submarine force was able to devastate Japan’s merchant marine, though this was not solely due to the wolfpack tactic. Wolfpacks fell out of use during the Cold War as the role of the submarine changed and as convoys became rare. World War I During the (German war on trade) Allies of World War I, Allied ships travelled independently prior to the introduction of the convoy system and were vulnerable to attacks by U-boats operating as 'lone wolves'. By gatheri ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Lisbon
Lisbon ( ; ) is the capital and largest city of Portugal, with an estimated population of 567,131, as of 2023, within its administrative limits and 3,028,000 within the Lisbon Metropolitan Area, metropolis, as of 2025. Lisbon is mainland Europe's westernmost capital city (second overall after Reykjavík, Reykjavik), and the only one along the Atlantic coast, the others (Reykjavik and Dublin) being on islands. The city lies in the western portion of the Iberian Peninsula, on the northern shore of the River Tagus. The western portion of its metro area, the Portuguese Riviera, hosts the westernmost point of Continental Europe, culminating at Cabo da Roca. Lisbon is one of the List of oldest continuously inhabited cities, oldest cities in the world and the second-oldest European capital city (after Athens), predating other modern European capitals by centuries. Settled by pre-Celtic tribes and later founded and civilized by the Phoenicians, Julius Caesar made it a municipium ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Porto
Porto (), also known in English language, English as Oporto, is the List of cities in Portugal, second largest city in Portugal, after Lisbon. It is the capital of the Porto District and one of the Iberian Peninsula's major urban areas. Porto city proper, which is the entire concelho, municipality of Porto, is small compared to its metropolitan area, with an estimated population of just 248,769 people in a municipality with only . Porto's urban area has around 1,319,151 people (2025) in an area of ,Demographia: World Urban Areas , March 2010 making it the second-largest urban area in Portugal. It is recognized as a global city with a Gamma + rating from the Globalization and World Cities Research Network. Located along the Douro River estuary in northern Portugal, Porto is one of the oldest European centers and ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Irish Mercantile Marine During World War II
The Irish Mercantile Marine during World War II continued essential overseas trade in the conflict, a period referred to as The Long Watch by Irish mariners. Irish merchant shipping saw to it that vital imports continued to arrive and exports, mainly food supplies to Great Britain, were delivered. Irish ships sailed unarmed and usually alone, identifying themselves as neutrals with bright lights and by painting the Irish tricolour and EIREÉire is the Irish name for Ireland. From 1937 "Ireland" was the correct name for the country. Prior to that it was the "Irish Free State". British documents of the time, tended to use the word "Eire" while the USA used "Irish Republic". Churchill said "Southern Ireland". in large letters on their sides and decks. Nonetheless, twenty percent of seamen serving in Irish ships perished, victims of a war not their own: attacked by both sides, though predominantly by the Axis powers. Often, Allied convoys did not stop to pick up survivors, whil ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Lifeboat (rescue)
A rescue lifeboat is a boat rescue craft which is used to attend a vessel in distress, or its survivors, to rescue crew and passengers. It can be hand pulled, sail powered or powered by an engine. Lifeboats may be rigid, Inflatable boat, inflatable or rigid-inflatable combination-hulled vessels. Overview There are generally three types of boat, in-land (used on lakes and rivers), in-shore (used closer to shore) and off-shore (into deeper waters and further out to sea). A rescue lifeboat is a boat designed with specialised features for searching for, rescuing and saving the lives of people in peril at sea or other large bodies of water. In the United Kingdom and Ireland rescue lifeboats are typically vessels crewed by volunteers, intended for quick dispatch, launch and transit to reach a ship or individuals in trouble at sea. Off-shore boats are referred to as 'All-weather' and generally have a range of 150–250 nautical miles. Characteristics such as capability to withstand he ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Sloop Of War
During the 18th and 19th centuries, a sloop-of-war was a warship of the Royal Navy with a single gun deck that carried up to 18 guns. The rating system of the Royal Navy covered all vessels with 20 or more guns; thus, the term encompassed all unrated warships, including gun-brigs and cutters. In technical terms, even the more specialised bomb vessels and fire ships were classed by the Royal Navy as sloops-of-war, and in practice these were employed in the role of a sloop-of-war when not carrying out their specialised functions. In World War I and World War II, the Royal Navy reused the term "sloop" for specialised convoy-defence vessels, including the of the First World War and the highly successful of the Second World War, with anti-aircraft and anti-submarine capabilities. They performed similar duties to the destroyer escorts of the United States Navy, and also performed similar duties to the smaller corvettes of the Royal Navy. Rigging A sloop-of-war was quite differe ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Her Majesty's Ship
His (or Her) Majesty's Ship, abbreviated HMS and H.M.S., is the ship prefix used for ships of the navy in some monarchies. Derivative terms such as HMAS and equivalents in other languages such as SMS are used. Commonwealth Realms United Kingdom With regard to the separate English and Scottish navies of the medieval period and early modern era, historians usually use terms such as "English Ship" or "Scottish Ship". During the late 17th century, following the Restoration, the name Royal Navy was officially adopted, as well as the prefix His Majesty's Ship, and later, Her Majesty's Ship. The first recorded use of the abbreviated form HMS was in 1789, in respect of HMS ''Phoenix''. From 1707 to circa 1800 HBMS (for ''His Britannic Majesty's Ship'') was also used. Submarines in His Majesty's service also use the prefix HMS, standing for ''His Majesty's Submarine'', though this is sometimes rendered HMS/m. (See, for exampleHMS/m ''Tireless'' at IWM). The Ro ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ocean Liner
An ocean liner is a type of passenger ship primarily used for transportation across seas or oceans. Ocean liners may also carry cargo or mail, and may sometimes be used for other purposes (such as for pleasure cruises or as hospital ships). The ''Queen Mary 2'' is the only ocean liner still in service to this day, serving with Cunard Line. The category does not include ferry, ferries or other vessels engaged in short-sea trading, nor dedicated cruise ships where the voyage itself, and not transportation, is the primary purpose of the trip. Nor does it include tramp steamers, even those equipped to handle limited numbers of passengers. Some shipping companies refer to themselves as "lines" and their passenger ships, which often operate over set routes according to established schedules, as "liners". While sharing certain similarities with cruise ships, such as comfort and luxuries for passengers, ocean liners must be able to travel between continents from point A to point B on a ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Women's Royal Naval Service
The Women's Royal Naval Service (WRNS; popularly and officially known as the Wrens) was the women's branch of the United Kingdom's Royal Navy. First formed in 1917 for the World War I, First World War, it was disbanded in 1919, then revived in 1939 at the beginning of the World War II, Second World War, remaining active until integrated into the Royal Navy in 1993. WRNS included Cooking, cooks, clerks, Morse code, wireless telegraphists, Plot (radar), radar plotters, weapons analysts, Rangefinding telemeter, range assessors, electricians, air mechanics, ground transport vehicle drivers and despatch_rider, motorcycle dispatch riders. History First World War The WRNS was formed in 1917 during the World War I, First World War. On 10 October 1918, nineteen-year-old Josephine Carr from Cork (city), Cork became the first Wren to die on active service, when her ship, the RMS Leinster, RMS ''Leinster'' was torpedoed. By the end of the war the service had 5,500 members, 500 of them offi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Empire Oak
''Empire Oak'' was a ocean-going tug which was built by Goole Shipbuilding & Repairing Co. Ltd. of Goole. The ship was launched on 15 March 1941 and completed in July 1941. She was torpedoed on 22 August 1941 and sunk by at while a member of Convoy OG 71. She was armed with a 12-pounder and two Hotchkiss machine guns. She also carried two PAC (parachute and cable) rockets. Ship history She sailed from Oban on 15 August 1941, captained by F.E. Christian, and joined Convoy OG 71 (Outward Gibraltar). On 19 August 1941, she joined the search for survivors from the merchantman ''Alva'' which had been sunk by , and spent approximately an hour searching and picked up several survivors before putting on speed to catch up with the convoy. On returning to the convoy Captain Christian spotted starshells going up, on arrival he spotted a number of red lights in the water which he took to be the red lights attached to merchantmen's lifejackets (at this time Royal Navy lifejackets did not ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
