Throughout the course of World War II, there were three admirals who commanded to U.S. Atlantic Fleet: King, Ingersoll and Ingram. It was Admiral Jonas Ingram (1887 - 1952) who wrote the attached article about battle for the Atlantic:
"It was common knowledge that we had a close call in the Atlantic in the early days of the war. The U-boats were ready. We were not. Admiral Doenitz's U-boat fleet was estimated to consist of 118 subs in January, 1941. By December,1941, this figure had increased to 153, according to reliable estimates. By January, 1943, the Germans were reported to have 400 U-boats. They maintained around this number, reaching a peak of 450 on the first of March, 1945... From our entry in the war we know definitely that we sunk 126 U-boats, most of them far from shore. We probably sank many more than this but in the Atlantic definite proof must be obtained before credit for a kill is given. Searching for these U-boats was like looking for a needle in a haystack. For the most part, they were scattered over thousands of square miles of ocean. Apart from the hazards involved and patience required there was the rugged Atlantic weather to battle.... The Atlant Fleet and ships in convoy cruised more than 50,000,000 miles in the battle against U-boats, to say nothing of the millions of miles flown by our pilots patrolling the vast stretches of the ocean."
Click here to read a related article.
Click here to read about the trans-Atlantic convoys.
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