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In January 1942, vital
supplies from North America and the Empire were under serious threat from
German U-boats and commerce raiders as they crossed the Atlantic. In a
two-storey bunker beneath Liverpool’s Derby House, the Western Approaches
Area Combined Headquarters was a hive of activity for the Royal Navy and
RAF.
As both worked to plot what was happening at sea and protect the Western
Approaches, U-boat wolfpacks were ravaging convoys, resulting in the heavy
loss of ships, lives, and the precious food and war supplies sent to sustain
Britain. Facing starvation and with ships being lost almost as fast as they
could be built, action had to be taken.
Churchill ordered the
establishment of the Western Approaches Tactical Unit (WATU) to develop and
disseminate new tactics to counter submarine attacks on transatlantic
convoys.
Obtain more information from
the following links...
Western Approaches Tactical Unit
Winning the War from the Floorboards
Jean Laidlaw’s genius and Operation Raspberry sunk Hitler’s underwater wolf
packs |
