The Importance of United States Submarine Warfare in World War II
The success of submarines during the war wasn’t always a given, early in the war the United States was behind the curve both technologically and tactically. Although the United States were pioneers in submarine warfare, the Germans had surpassed them in tactics and technology. Due to the United States entering the war late the Axis forces had almost a decade lead in the use of submarines for warfare.
The submarine is often considered the ultimate weapon. Even with the limitation that early submarines had by being forced to stay on the surface they were about to attack from seemingly out of nowhere. The results of those attacks were disproportionately lethal with submarines sinking roughly sixty percent of merchant traffic and thirty percent of military traffic in the Pacific Theatre alone. (US NAVY)
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The submerged war was fought in a global theatre. From the frigid north to the balmy waters of the mid-Pacific. The submarine also filled many roles during the war, included but not limited to, acting as lifeguard for downed Allied airmen, coastal reconnaissance, and blockade buster. Perhaps most importantly they acted as the forward attack against Axis supply ships. From the beginning the United States focused on enemy merchant ships allowing the Allied forces to shorten the gap technological gap until the United States could bring its full industrial might to bear. Submarines made all the difference in the war. A difference so great that, as seen later in the war, the United States submarine force was instrumental in turning the tide towards