Convoy Warfare

Abstract

The convoy lay at the heart of the war on shipping: it was at once the principal countermeasure to the German attack on shipping and, for much of the war, the main target of German forces, especially submarines. However, its centrality has led to it being taken for granted to some extent on one hand and on the other derided as outdated. It is therefore helpful to look again at the convoy, both in theory and practice, to see what its merits and drawbacks are in general and how these worked out practically in the harsh arena of the Battle of the Atlantic.