Australians serving in British waters during World War II

Allied and Axis navies

The British Royal Navy was the strongest navy in the world in 1939. But it counted on the British Empire's dominions to support and supplement its naval power.

The Australian Government expanded the Royal Australian Navy (RAN) as part of its 1937 defence program. By 1939, it was stronger and ready for war.

Australian naval ships had been deployed in support of British foreign policy during the 1930s. Many Australian naval personnel had also trained and served on Royal Navy ships.

Australian leaders recognised the need for a strong navy. They also knew that Australia's defence depended on an Allied effort. They were willing and able to deploy RAN ships and Australian naval personnel where needed.

German navy

The Kriegsmarine (German navy) was limited by the Treaty of Versailles in its size and the type of ships it could have. It could not build ships of more than 10,000 tons displacement (about equivalent to a heavy cruiser).

Under the treaty, Germany also could not design or build:

• vessels such as aircraft carriers, submarines and carrier-borne aircraft
• heavy coastal fortifications.

After the Anglo-German Naval Treaty of 1935, Germany was allowed to build submarines and other types of ships that had previously been banned. The German forces began a huge naval building program in 1937. But most new ships were not completed by the start of the war in 1939. Their tactical advantage was the 68 U-boats in commission in 1939.

Italian navy

The Regina Marina (Italian navy) was a powerful threat to the Allies in the Mediterranean Sea.

Until Italy surrendered on 9 September 1943, its navy:

• prevented Allied landings in mainland Italy, Sardinia and Sicily
• defended its colonies in North Africa
• fought against the Allies
• supported and supplied Italian and German forces in Europe and Africa.

Italian submarines joined the German navy in attacking Allied shipping in the Atlantic Ocean and the Mediterranean.

Battle of the Atlantic from 1939 to 1945

The Atlantic shipping routes cross the Atlantic Ocean between Europe and North America.

From the sailing of the first Atlantic convoy on 2 September 1939 to the defeat of Germany in May 1945, the Allied and Axis powers fought for control of the Atlantic Ocean.

Both the Allies and Axis powers relied on shipping to supply materials for combat, food and supplies. The UK needed more than one million tons of imports a week to survive and fight. Similarly, Germany and other Axis countries needed access to harbours and supplies.

Throughout this period, the advantage shifted between the 2 sides. Whichever side controlled the Atlantic had:

• secure shipping and supply
• naval dominance
• sea and air support for land campaigns
• greater economic security to supply the war.

Shipping moved in large convoys of merchant ships, vulnerable to attack by ships, submarines and aircraft. Convoys sometimes had up to 70 mostly unarmed merchant ships protected by Allied ships and, when in range, air cover.

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From the start of the war, the UK imposed a blockade on Germany. Troops and supply ships were stopped from leaving or entering German or Axis country harbours.

The maritime blockade was intended to:

• damage the German economy
• reduce the German navy's capacity to support land operations.

The German navy counter-blockaded. They tried to starve the UK of all kinds of imports by sinking as many merchant ships as possible. The Germans attacked convoys with U-boats, surface ships and aircraft.

Italian navy submarines joined German forces in the Atlantic in 1940.

In the Battle of the Atlantic, the Allies sought to:

• remove the threat to Allied shipping and supplies
• blockade Germany and the European Axis powers
• neutralise the German navy
• mount and support campaigns in the region against the Axis forces.

The battle was ultimately an Allied victory, but it came at great cost in human life. The merchant marine – seaman on commercial shipping – sustained higher casualties than any branch of the armed services. More than 30,000 merchant seamen died, with more than 10,000 captured or wounded. Some estimates put this figure much higher.

More than 3,000 British and other merchant ships were sunk, along with 175 Allied warships. Around 780 German U-boats and 47 German naval ships were also lost. Germany spent more on the Atlantic front than on any other front during the war.

The Battle of the Atlantic is remembered for:

• new maritime warfare strategies
• new technologies, such as sonar
• intelligence gathering and codebreaking
• involving thousands of submarines, ships and aircraft
• involving thousands of civilian seamen, merchant mariners and military forces.

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Australians in the Atlantic campaign

Around 5,000 Australians served in a variety of roles and places during the Battle of the Atlantic. There were very few parts of the Allied effort in the Atlantic where Australians were not found.

Australian officers commanded Royal Navy ships, and RAN personnel served on them. Many Australians were deployed to defensively equipped merchant ships (DEMS). A small number volunteered for special operations.

Merchant marine sailors crewed and commanded merchant ships.

RAN ships provided escort and protection to convoys and patrolled for enemy ships and submarines. They were also troop carriers, provided bombardment support and took part in many kinds of Allied operations.

Many Australians served in air operations over the Atlantic with the Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF). RAAF squadrons participated in anti-submarine patrols, convoy escort and attacks on enemy convoys and navies. Some Australians also served with the Royal Air Force (RAF).

RAF Coastal Command

Many of RAF Coastal Command's anti-submarine warfare (ASW) staff were Australian or had been trained in Australia.

From 1 July 1942 and right through the war, No 10 Squadron RAAF served with RAF Coastal Command. The squadron's aircrews flew Sunderland flying boats on long and hazardous anti-submarine patrols.

No 461 Squadron RAAF also flew Sunderlands, and No 455 Squadron RAAF flew Hampden bombers and Beaufighter strike-fighters. Bombers and Beaufighters attacked enemy convoys and shipping and defended Allied shipping.

Later, No 458 Squadron RAAF flew Wellington bombers out of Gibraltar.

Many Australians flew with RAF squadrons from bases across Great Britain, West Africa, Gibraltar, Iceland, Greenland, the Azores and other Atlantic islands.

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No 461 Squadron

In Sunderland flying boats, the aircrews of 461 Squadron were submarine hunters over the Atlantic. They patrolled an area crossed by German U-boats on their way to and from France.

Throughout 1943, 461 Squadron conducted intensive patrols in the Bay of Biscay, increasing the unit's aircraft from 9 to 12. The squadron sank 3 submarines that year, including U-461, which was destroyed by Sunderland ‘U’. Because the Bay of Biscay was vital to the Germans, 461 Squadron aircraft frequently encountered German warplanes.

On 2 June 1943, an Australian-crewed Sunderland, commanded by Flight Lieutenant Colin Walker, fought off 8 Ju-88 fighters. They destroyed 3 planes and damaged another 2. Walker and his crew were wounded, and a fire broke out on board. The crew managed to nurse the damaged Sunderland more than 300 miles back to Cornwall in England.

Walker was awarded the Distinguished Service Cross (DSC), and his crew were also decorated. The citation states that ‘these officers and airmen displayed great skill, courage and fortitude’.

The Chief of Air Staff, Air Marshal Sir Charles Portal, said at the time that:

the epic battle … will go down in history as one of the finest instances in this war of the triumph of coolness, skill and determination against overwhelming odds.

No 461 Squadron was awarded many battle honours, including Atlantic 1939-1945.

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Dudley's veteran story

Dudley Marrow was a flight lieutenant in No 461 Squadron RAAF flying Sunderlands. His crew protected convoys and attacked U-boats. In 1943, his crew successfully attacked a group of 3 U-boats. A month later, they were shot down in the Atlantic. Watch an oral history interview with Dudley Marrow.

RAN ships in the Atlantic

HMAS Australia

The RAN offered HMAS Australia to the British government in late May 1940 for service where Allied operational need was greatest.

Australia escorted a troop convoy (US3) from Sydney to British home waters in May 1940. Then it joined the First Cruiser Squadron at Scapa Flow in Orkney, Scotland. In July 1940, Australia helped search for the German battleship Gneisenau, which was trying to break out into the Atlantic.

In August 1940, Australia was deployed to intercept and destroy German trawlers around the Faroe Islands and Bear Island in the Arctic Circle. This was the period when the ship was painted with a camouflage pattern.

After an operation in Dakar, Australia returned to Atlantic convoy duty from October to the end of 1940.

For much of 1941, Australia carried out convoy escort and patrols in the Atlantic and Indian Oceans and the Tasman Sea.

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N-class destroyers

In the early years of the war, the N-Class destroyers HMA Ships Napier, Nestor, Nepal, Nizam and Norman maintained a near-constant presence in the Atlantic.

In December 1941, HMAS Nestor sank the German submarine U-127 off the coast of Portugal. Australian Commander Alvord Sydney (AS) Rosenthal won a Bar to his Distinguished Service Order (DSO) for this action.

The N-class ships were joined in 1943 by HMAS Shropshire. Shropshire served in the South Atlantic on escort duty until presented to the RAN in August 1943. This was after the loss of HMAS Canberra at Savo Island.

HMAS Nestor received battle honours for its role in the Atlantic and in the hunt for the German battleship Bismarck.

Later in the war, the N-class ships served on escort, patrol and other duties in the Mediterranean Sea, the Indian Ocean and the Pacific Ocean.

HMAS Ships Norman, Napier, Nestor and Nizam were part of Operation Vigorous, escorting a resupply convoy to Malta in June 1942.

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Q-class destroyers

Two Q-class destroyers, HMAS Quiberon and HMAS Quickmatch, were deployed to convoy duty in 1942.

Quickmatch continued escort duty in 1943 after capturing the Italian blockade runner Cortelazzo. The ship received the battle honour 'English Channel' for service in British waters in 1942.

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British naval vessels

Australians also served on many Royal Navy vessels. These included battleships and aircraft carriers, as well as small landing craft and midget submarines.

Ships commanded by Australian officers sank at least 6 enemy U-boats.

Lieutenant Commander Stanley Darling, RANVR, while in command of HMS Loch Killin, sank U-333, U-736 and U-1063 for which he received the DSC and 2 bars.

Defensively equipped merchant ships

The DEMS were armed with guns operated by gun crews in the:

• Royal Navy and Royal Naval Reserve (RNR)
• RAN and Royal Australian Naval Volunteer Reserve (RANVR).

Many Australians, including merchant seamen and naval gun crew members, served on Allied merchant ships carrying supplies and troops.

The Cunard passenger liner RMS Queen Mary was converted into a troopship after sailing to Sydney in March 1940. Queen Mary ferried troops across the Atlantic with more than 60 Australian and British DEMS sailors on board.

When the German battleship, Admiral Graf Spee, sank the merchant ships Doric Star and Tairoa in December 1939, DEMS sailors were the first RAN personnel to become prisoners of war (POWs). Fortunately, both merchant ships managed to relay wireless messages before being sunk. This led to the demise of the Admiral Graf Spee during the Battle of River Plate.

Most of the Graf Spree's POWs, including the DEMS personnel, had been moved to the German tanker Altmark before the battle. Luckily, the HMS Cossack intercepted the Altmark in February 1940 and freed all Allied prisoners.

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Dominion Yachtsmen Scheme

The first months of the war showed the urgent need for more trained personnel in the Royal Navy. In May 1940, the Lords Commissioners of the Royal Navy requested that the Australian Government set up the Dominion Yachtsman Scheme. This would swell the ranks of the Royal Naval Volunteer Reserve (RNVR), also called ‘the wavy navy’.

Advertisements for the recruitment of 2 groups were run in July 1940. Recruits being commissioned as officers (Class A) needed navigational knowledge. The second group (Class B) would be ordinary sailors (ratings). Despite the name, few of the 500 men who became ‘yachties’ were practising yachtsmen or yacht club members.

The recruits were transported to England in 12 groups at different times and joined the RNVR. Class A recruits were immediately commissioned as sub-lieutenants. After training, all recruits completed 3 months of sea time onboard a ship.

The yachties were vital to the Royal Navy. Most of them did convoy duty in the Atlantic at some time. They served on escort vessels or in Royal Navy ships in a variety of roles, from officers to gunners.

Yachtie Clive Tayler commented on his rapid promotion:

I was commissioned end of December 1941, I joined my first ship in February … Something like eight months after that I was senior-officer-of-the-watch on this American destroyer as a sub-lieutenant … that's how short they were of qualified people.

The men of the Yachtsmen scheme were a highly decorated group, with individuals awarded:

• one Conspicuous Gallantry medal
• 4 George Cross medals
• 9 George medals
• 30 Distinguished Service Cross medals
• 30 Mentions in Dispatches (MID)
• 3 Orders of the British Empire
• one Member of the British Empire Medal.

Yachties who died

Thirty-six men of the Dominion Yachtsman Scheme were killed during World War II. A casualty rate of around 7%, similar to that of RAF Bomber Command.

Four Ordinary Seamen died in the sinking of the battlecruiser HMS Hood on 24 May 1941:

• David Hall
• George Hall
• John Shannon
• Ian Startup.

They all joined the RANVR through the Dominion Yachtsman Scheme.

In an action called the Battle of Denmark Strait, Hood was hit by 2 shells from German warships – first from Prinz Eugen and then from Bismarck. Within 3 minutes of the second shell, Hood exploded and sank. Only 3 sailors survived.

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Anti-submarine warfare

Allied naval personnel trained in anti-submarine warfare (ASW) had to learn the British sonar system called ASDIC (Anti-Submarine Detection Investigation Committee).

HMAS Rushcutter naval base

In Sydney, HMAS Rushcutter was the RAN's anti-submarine school. It was one of the few naval bases with ASDIC.

By September 1939, some 62 officers and 32 sailors were trained in ASW at Rushcutters Bay. The Royal Navy needed trained ASW personnel, so many of these Australian officers and sailors served on Royal Navy ships. Their expertise was vital.

By the end of 1943, around 1,119 RAN officers and sailors were serving in British ships. It's estimated that 20% of ASW personnel in the Battle of the Atlantic had trained at HMAS Rushcutter.

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HMT Lady Shirley

Some experienced naval officers had their own commands in trawlers converted for ASW.

For example, Lieutenant Commander Arthur Callaway took command of HM Trawler Lady Shirley in March 1941.

Also onboard Lady Shirley was Australian Lieutenant Ian Boucaut, RANVR, who joined from the Yachtsmen scheme.

Lady Shirley was the first British vessel commanded by an Australian to destroy a U-boat. On 4 October 1941, the trawler encountered U-111 south-west of the Canary Islands. Lady Shirley engaged the U-boat with depth charges and gunfire. The trawler lost one man killed, but Callaway received a DSO and Boucaut a DSC for their parts in the action.

Callaway, Boucaut and the rest of Lady Shirley's crew were killed in action on 11 December 1941. The trawler sank with all hands after being torpedoed by German U-374 in the Strait of Gibraltar.

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Attack on the Tirpitz X-craft submarines

In 1942, RAN personnel volunteered for service in the Royal Navy's midget submarines. In September 1943, 6 midget submarines attacked the German battleship Tirpitz in Norway.

Australians commanded 3 of the 6 midget submarines:

• HMS X8 by Lieutenant Brian McFarlane, RAN
• HMS X10 by Lieutenant Ken Hudspeth, RANVR
• HMS X5 by Lieutenant Henty Henty-Creer, RNVR.

Two more Australians were part of the crew:

• Lieutenant Max Shean, RANVR, was a diver in X9
• Sub Lieutenant Jack Marsden, RANVR, was the first lieutenant of X8.

During the operation, X9 was lost with its crew when the towing gear failed. X8 had to be scuttled due to explosive charge issues. However, the Allied attack was successful, taking the Tirpitz out of action until March 1944.

One veteran’s reflections

Listen to XE4 Midget submarine veteran Ken Briggs talk about ASDIC operator training and serving in X-craft submarines:

• oral history interview in 2003
• oral history interview in 2009.

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Commemoration

The lengthy battle saw the loss of at least 3,500 Allied merchant ships, 175 warships, and more than 2,000 aircraft. Estimates of total deaths of Allied merchant seamen, military personnel and civilians range from 80,000 to 100,000.

About 5,000 Australians qualified for the Atlantic Star medal for their service during the Battle of the Atlantic.

Australian RAN, RAAF and army personnel who died during the Battle of the Atlantic are listed on the Roll of Honour at the Australian War Memorial.

The Battle of the Atlantic is commemorated on 1 May every year.

The Royal Navy unveiled a memorial for the Battle of the Atlantic in Liverpool in 2025.

The Royal Australian Naval Memorial is located on Anzac Drive in Canberra.

In Australia, Merchant Navy Day is commemorated on 3 September each year. The Merchant Navy Memorial on the edge of Lake Burley Griffin in Canberra commemorates the contribution made by the Australian merchant navy during both World Wars.

The Australian War Memorial has individual plaques commemorating many of the squadrons, ships and commands involved in the Battle of the Atlantic. A commemorative plaque for the Dominion Yachtsman Scheme was unveiled at the Australian War Memorial in 2017.

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