Naval Aviation in WW II

Patrol
Aviation
.

in the
Atlantic in
World War II By Captain Albert L. Raithel, Jr., USN (Ret.)

atrol aviation in the Atlantic in occupied with providing operational

, P WW II has been described as

“thousands of hours of boredom
interspersed with moments of she‘er
training to recent graduates of the
flight training programs or in transition
training of squadrons reequipping with
terror.” new aircraft.
On 7 December 1941, patrol aviation In the weeks after Pearl Harbor, Pa-
in the Atlantic was organized under trol Wing 8 and four PBY squadrons
Commander Patrol Wings, U.S. Atlantic were transferred to the Pacific. For
Fleet. Five wings were located as follows: practical purposes, the East Coast of
Patrol Wing 3, Coca Solo, Canal Zone; the United States had been stripped of
Patrol Wings 5, 8 and 9, Norfolk, Va.; its patrol aviation shield. Following the
and Patrol Wing 7, Argentia, New- German and Italian declaration of
foundland. Twelve Atlantic patrol war against the United States on 11
squadrons were equipped with various December 1941, patrol aviation re-
models of the Consolidated PBY maining in the Atlantic had its hands
Catalina, with one squadron flying the full with escort of North Atlantic convoys
Martin PBM Mariner. An additional and stepped-up patrols from the offshore
squadron’was transitioning to the Lock- bases.
heed PBO Hudson.. Very unlike current operations under
Atlantic patrol aviation under Atlantic unified commands supported by exten-
Fleet tasking was heavily engaged in sive worldwide command, control,
Neutrality Patrol operations over a communications and intelligence sys-
wide area. Patrols were flown from Ice- tems, antisubmarine air operations up
land, Newfoundland, Bermuda, Puerto to 150 miles off the East Coast at the
Rico, Trinidad and Brazil. Commander time of the initial German submarine
Patrol Wing 3 covered both the Carib- offensive were conducted under the
bean and the Pacific approaches to operational control of Commander
the Panama Canal. Those few squad- North Atlantic Naval Coastal Frontier,
rons not flying Neutrality Patrols were as a task force commander under Com-

28 Naval Aviation News November-December 1994

Naval Aviation News November-December 1994
 “MADCAT” PBY with magnetic anomaly detec-
tion equipment.
80-G-383725

ing and new squadron establishment

and workup, patrol aviation was fully
engaged in the Battle of the Atlantic.
The American patrol aviation forces
were only a portion of the much larger
mixture of land, sea and air resources
involved in what has been termed his-
tory’s longest, most expensive and
most critical naval battle.
The objective of antisubmarine war-
fare is to deprive the enemy of the
effective use of its submarines. To this
end, the recording of submarine losses
tells just a small part of the story. Par-
ticularly, sightings by aircraft radioed
ashore or to surface craft often re-
sulted in numerous attacks by other

mander in Chief, US. Fleet. This

control was exercised through the com-
mandants of the First, Third, Fourth
and Fifth Naval Districts. Forces assigned
were those of the Naval Local Defense
Forces drawn from air assets of the re-
spective naval district commandants.
Control was normally through naval
communications facilities at the base
of flight ,origin. Communicationsbetween
bases and with the Naval Coastal Fron-
tier were very limited. Long-range Three PV-1 Venturas awaiting takeoff clearance, NAS Port Lyautey, French Morocco. 80-G-K-5246
flight communications utilized high
frequency continuous wave, with voice
communications limited to short
ranges. Very few frequencies were
available to each aircraft, and coding
was manual through the use of strip
ciphers or code books.
The Battle of the Atlantic, from its in-
ception in September 1939 until 8 May
1945, was a battle for the protection of
shipping, supply and troop transport
waged against the German submarine
force, supporting Luftwaffe aircraft and
occasional surface ships and Italian
submarines. With the exception of
those patrol organizations-including
Fleet Air Wing 5 after September
943-in operational or transition train-

PBY on convoy patrol, Gulf Sea Frontier.

80-G-238408

2n Naval Aviation News November-December 1994

surface or air units. In 1942, subma- winter weather conditions. Since oper- Karl Doenitz as Commander in Chief-
rines were ordered to dive when they ating conditions were becoming U-boats received permission for subma-
sighted an aircraft. Consequently, air impossible for flying boats, a plea was rine operations off the East Coast of the
patrols in the vicinity of surface ves- made for land-based aircraft. In order United States.
sels or convoys often contributed to to meet this immediate requirement, With the departure of Patrol Wing 8
the submarines’ inability to position for the Navy was able to divert 20 lend- and four PBY squadrons to reinforce
an attack, and thus indirectly contributed lease Lockheed Hudsons from those the Pacific fleet in mid-December, the
to the objective. destined for the Royal Air Force. North Atlantic Naval Coastal Frontier
Through the fall of 1941, most sub- These aircraft, the Navy’s first landplane was left with only a few training squad-
marine operations in the Atlantic had patrol bombers, were designated PBO-1. ron PBYs and Coast Guard aircraft
been conducted against areas of ship- Retreating before a determined Brit- and some trainers and carrier aircraft.
ping concentration and against ish offensive in the autumn of 1941, When the German attacks on East
convoys to and from Canada and the the situation of the German Afrika Coast shipping began in January
United Kingdom. Commander Patrol Korps was critical. Hitler, with no prior 1942, the Commander in Chief, U.S.
Wing 7 operated as a task group com- warning of Japanese plans for the Fleet, refused a request for transfer of
mander under Commander Support Pearl Harbor attack, ordered that most Atlantic Fleet aircraft to the Naval
Force, Atlantic Fleet. Patrol PBY submarines be withdrawn from the Coastal Frontiers. In February, permis-
squadrons VPs 71, 72 and 73, and Atlantic to operate against British ship- sion was granted for fleet aircraft to be
PBM squadron VP-74 supported convoy ping in the Mediterranean. Shortly after used by Coastal Frontier commanders
operations from Newfoundland and Ice- Germany and Italy declared war in emergencies only and not for routine
land with primitive facilities and fierce against the United States-with Admiral patrols. Commander North Atlantic Na-
val Coastal Frontier also asked for
80-G-66071
and received operational control of 9
Boeing B-17 heavy bombers, 6 Douglas
B-18s and 31 North American B-25
medium bombers from the Army’s First
Bomber Command. These aircraft car-
ried only demolition bombs and flew
only daylight missions, but they flew
and fought. Inshore antisubmarine pa-
trols up to 50 miles off the coast were
flown by the Coast Guard, Army obser-
vation squadrons, trainers and after
March 1942 by the Civil Air Patrol in
support of Navy tasking. Also in March,
All contacts weren’t submarines! Medal presented for attacks on targets evaluated as whales.
a number of Vought OS2U Kingfisher
aircraft, originally destined for the Brit-
ish, were assigned to inshore patrol
squadrons.
Adm. Doenitz named his first mission
against the East Coast, Operation
Drumbeat. The first sinking occurred
300 miles east of Cape Cod, Mass., on
11 January 1942. The five U-boats
which comprised the first group were
detected by communications intercept
and accurately plotted and reported by
U.S. Naval Intelligence in the estimate
for 12 January.
Unprepared to conduct antisubmarine
warfare and without effective command,
control and communications support,
the meager surface and air forces
available in the North Atlantic Naval
Coastal Frontier were unable to cope
with the German offensive. During the
first quarter of 1942, 60 ships were
sunk by U-boats in the area. Remedial
action where possible was slow in com-
Naval Aviation in WW II
ing. Lights along the coast that
silhouetted ships offshore were never
blacked out and were only dimmed
after strong representation by the Army.
Effective antisubmarine search and lo-
calization devices were not available,
and the only antisubmarine weapon, the
depth charge, had limited lethal range.
As the German offensive gradually
worked its way south along the coast,
detachments of patrol aircraft were es-
tablished at various points along the
coast to enable them to base closer to
80-G-21 33
their patrol areas. With the establishment VP-73 PBY covered with snow, North Atlantic
of coastal convoys and the organization area, December 1941.
of the Eastern, Gulf, Panama and Car-
ibbean Sea Frontier commands in
April 1942, the command and control additional aircraft were pressed into
system for prosecution of antisubma- action as soon as squadrons could be
rine warfare in the Atlantic began to formed and crews trained.
take shape. Aircraft production and The summer of 1942 saw greatly in-
training programs at this time could creased concentration of submarine
not fill the worldwide force requirements, activity against the North Atlantic con-
and shipping losses were enormous- voys and Canadian coastal zone
154 ships lost in areas covered by . shipping with the third quarter loss of
American patrol forces, with the loss of 68 ships. A substantial decrease in 80-G-K. 14059
only 2 submarines, U-656 and U-503. losses was experienced in the Eastern Fleet Air Wing 7 PBPY-1on Bay of Biscay patrol,
Both were credited to VP-82 flying the and Gulf Sea Frontier areas, but con- Summer 1943.
PBO-1 Hudson, the first German sub- tinued strong activity in the Caribbean
marine sinking attributed to United resulted in quarterly losses of 93 ships.
States forces in WW II. Losses in the Brazilian area continued
As the pressure of the coastal convoys a small increase to 10 ships. sel to sink U-576. In August, Coast
began to take effect in the second Partially offsetting these losses was Guard Squadron 212 sank U-l 66 in
quarter of 1942, the main offensive the increase in submarine sinkings at- the Gulf of Mexico.
moved with a vengeance into the Gulf tributed to American air patrol activity. In August 1942, Patrol Wing 11 was
of Mexico and the Caribbean. Whereas In July, the Army’s 396th Bombardment established at San Juan, P.R., and
the losses during the first quarter were Squadron sank U-701; VS-59, a Patrol was assigned to the Caribbean Sea
51 ships, the second quarter losses Wing 3 inshore patrol squadron, joined Frontier. In September, Patrol Wing 12
counted 167 ships in these areas. Dur- surface units to sink U-153; and VS-9, was established at Key West, Fla., as-
ing the quarter, only VP-74, flying the an Eastern Sea Frontier inshore patrol signed to the Gulf Sea Frontier. These
PBM Mariner, scored a kill, sinking squadron, joined with a merchant ves- commands improved the administrative
U-l 58.
Additional PBY squadrons came “on
line” as fast as they could be trained,
but the build-up was painfully slow as
the demands of the Pacific Fleet were
critical at this time. Deliveries of the
PBM-3 to patrol squadrons were sub-
ject to production and configuration
delays.
A decision in 1920 precluded the
Navy from developing land-based pa-
trol aircraft. The Navy’s request for
these aircraft was not favorably resolved
until July 1942. At that time, an agree-
ment with the Army resulted in the
release of Consolidated B-24s (PB4Y- NH 93645
Is), North American B-25s (PBJ-1s) The VP-55 commander’s aircraft floats offshore in 1941. This was one of the first PBM-1 s assigned
and Lockheed B-34s (PV-1s). These to the fleet.

Naval Aviation News November-December 1994

 Coast Guard Douglas Dolphin rescues survivors of SS Gulfstate, sunk by U-155, April 1942.

and material support for squadron op- and by transfer of ground personnel
erations in their respective areas. Also from squadrons to the HEDRON.
in September, Headquarters Squadrons Thus, squadrons were composed pri-
(HEDRONs) were established in each marily of flight crews which, being
wing to provide for the administration freed of most administrative and main-
of the wing and attached squadrons. tenance responsibilities, could
They also accomplished the mainte- concentrate on flight operations.
80-G-41 878 nance and repair of all squadron aircraft HEDRON detachments, called Patrol
Ltjg. John E. Dryden, USNR, of VP-53, paints by pooling all equipment and spare parts, Service Units, provided maintenance
U-boat kill symbol on his PBY after sinking U-156.

VP-21 1 PBM at Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Note white tropical paint scheme.
NH 94555

Naval Aviation News November-December 1994 33

 services to deployed wing squadrons January, and the Army’s 2nd Antisub- availability of 1Ocmairborne radar,
and detachments at outlying bases. In marine Squadron, assigned to Fleet which effectively reduced the ability of
October, the inshore patrol squadrons Air Wing 15, sank U-519 in February. U-boats to remain undetected while re-
were assigned to the administrative In March, U-156 fell prey to VP-53 and positioning on the surface.
control of the Patrol Wings. Operational U-524 to the Army’s 1st Antisubmarine In the face of determined opposition,
control remained with the Sea Frontier Squadron, also of Fleet Air Wing 15. the Germans were subjected to grievous
commanders. The second quarter results were even losses, and on 24 May 1943, Adm.
On 1 November 1942, Patrol Wings better. In April, VP-83 sank the Italian Doenitz withdrew his U-boats from the
were designated Fleet Air Wings as submarine Archimede, while VB-125 North Atlantic convoy routes.
the basic structure for shore-based air sank U-174. May saw the loss of U- In July, a decision was reached to
and were to be composed of any types 657 and U-467 to VP-84. VS-62, a assign all PBMs to the Atlantic Fleet
of aircraft required by the wing to per- Fleet Air Wing 12 inshore patrol squad- for antisubmarine operations. It was
dorm its assigned functions in a peculiar ron, and a Cuban gunboat joined to kill not until December that PBMs would
area of operation. As antisubmarine U-176. VP-74 and surface units sank be assigned to the Pacific Fleet. Also
measures became more effective, and U-128. June brought the demise of U- in July, two squadrons of PB2Y Coro-
as the number of squadrons available 388 and U-200, both to VP-84. nado flying boats were added to the
provided greater coverage, the effec- The fierce attacks against the con- patrol forces, and the first of the acous-
tiveness of submarines in the voys reached a climax in the spring of tic antisubmarine aerial torpedoes
Caribbean area was sharply reduced. 1943. A number of significant factors (Fide) reached the fleet. The build-up
Adm. Doenitz shifted his area of con- contributed to the Allies turning the of patrol forces was accompanied by
centration to the north. In the last tide of battle. more responsive command and control
quarter of 1942, losses mounted in the Training programs and production measures, more reliable communica-
North Atlantic convoy area to 70 ships lines combined to furnish the well-trained tions and proven tactics, which were
and decreased in the Caribbean to 48 personnel, ships and aircraft required widely disseminated and taught in the
ships. Losses mounted to 23 ships in to provide the necessary protection for various training establishments sup-
the Brazilian area and to 35 ships in shipping. Atlantic patrol squadrons porting the fleet.
the southe,astern Atlantic. There were had increased in number from 16 in With the advent of more and better
no losses in the last quarter of 1942 in July 1942 to 30 on 1 January 1943. equipment, and additional squadrons
the Eastern, Gulf or Panama Sea Fron- Long-range B-24/PB4Y-1 Liberators to put on task, submarine losses to pa-
tier areas. U-512 was sunk by the provided the range to help close the trol aviation mounted through the
Army’s 99th Bombardment Squadron, mid-ocean gap, along with the increas- summer. In July, VP-32 sank U-159, U-
and U-408 by VP-84 in October. U-61 1 ingly available Hunter-Killer Groups 759 and U-359; VP-94 sank U-590
was sunk by VP-84 in December. composed of escort carriers, their air and U-662. U-135 was killed by VP-92
The decisive year in the Battle of group and accompanying surface es- and British surface units, while Bomb-
the Atlantic was 1943. With increased corts. A very important factor was the ing Squadron (VB) 107 tallied U-613.
numbers of submarines available, VP-74 sank U-513 and in coordination
Adm. Doenitz formed large “wolf with two Brazilian patrol planes sank
packs” to operate against the North U-199. U-43 was sunk by VB-127. In
Atlantic convoys. August, U-572 was dispatched by VP-
OS2U on inshore patrol, Eastern Sea Frontier,
VP-83 sank U-164 and U-507 in July 1942. 205. In an eight-hour battle involving 7
80-G-13132 PBMs, a PV, an Army B-18 and a Kdype
blimp, U-615 finally succumbed to the
combined attacks of VP-204, VP-205,
VB-130 and the 10th Bombing Squad-
ron Army Air Force, with the assistance
of ZP-51. Also in August, VB-129, VP-
107 and USS Moffett combined forces
to sink U-604 and Fleet Air Wing 7 de-
ployed to the United Kingdom for
operations under control of 19 Group,
Royal Air Force Coastal Command.
In September, U-161 fell prey to VP-
74. Also, the operational units of Fleet
Air Wings 5 and 9 merged into Fleet
Air Wing 9. Headquarters moved to
New York, and Commander Fleet Air
Wing 9 assumed additional duties as
Eastern Sea Frontier Air Officer. Fleet
Air Wing 5 became the Atlantic Fleet
Training Wing for the remainder of the 6 Nov: Recognition of the future im- with the establishment of VBF squad-
war. Also in September, Army antisub- portance of turbojet and turboprop rons the following month.
marine units and Civil Air Patrol units power plants led the Bureau of Aero- 7 Dee: Chourre (ARV 1) was com-
supporting the Eastern Sea Frontier nautics to request the Naval Air Material missioned as the first aviation repair
were replaced by units of Fleet Air Center to study requirements for a ship of the U.S. Navy, Captain A. H.
Wing 9, and Civil Air Patrol units were laboratory to develop and test gas-tur- Bergeson commanding.
no longer assigned to Gulf Sea Frontier bine power plants. This initiated action 12 Dee: Three Evacuation Squad-
operational control. which led to the establishment of the rons (VEs) were established in the
Following the withdrawal of subma- Naval Air Turbine Test Station, Pacific from Air-Sea Rescue Squadron
rines from the North Atlantic convoy Trenton, N.J. elements already providing evacuation
area, Adm. Doenitz sent his force to 29 Nov: The changing character of services.
operate in distant waters. This was the war was reflected in a revision of 30 Dee: The specification on aircraft
done to preserve as much of the force the aircraft complement of Essex-class color was amended to provide that patrol
as possible until new developments carrier air groups to 73 VF, 15 VB and and patrol bombing landplanes received
would again allow a return to attack on 15 VT. The fighter complement was to a color scheme that was similar to that
the vital North Atlantic convoys. These be filled by two squadrons of 36 prescribed for carrier-based airplanes.
developments included installation of planes each, plus one for the air group Specifically, the patrol planes and patrol
improved 20mm antiaircraft cannon, commander, and to include 4 VF(N), 2 bombers were to be painted semigloss
the acoustic torpedo, a new radar VF(P) and 2 VF(E). The change to the sea blue on top and bottom surfaces of
countermeasures receiver and a new new figures was gradual, beginning wings and on all horizontal tail surfaces;
radar decoy. Aerial reconnaissance by with the assignment of Marine fighter other tail surfaces and the fuselage
Luftwaffe Focke Wulf patrol planes pro- squadrons in December and continuing were to be nonspecular sea blue.
vided advanced warning and location
of Gibraltar and other southbound con-
voys. The submarine offensive in the . .
Bay of Biscay and the other more remote (MAD) equipment was introduced in marines were never an effective force
operating areas proved to be costly early 1944 and rockets were fitted to after August 1944. The only submarine
largely due to excellent Allied commu- the PV in February. loss to American patrol aviation during
nications intelligence and the new Submarine losses to patrol aviation the remainder of 1944 was U-863 sunk
10cm radars about which the Germans counted U-271 sunk by VB-103 in by VB-107.
had no information. Losses through January and U-177 sunk by VB-107 in On 1 October 1944, all VP and VB
the summer and into the autumn con- February. U-761 was detected attempt- squadrons were redesignated VPB
vinced Adm. Doenitz to conclude in his ing tospass through the Gibraltar-North (multi-engine patrol bombing) squadrons.
memoirs that “. . . the era of success Africa MAD barrier and was sunk by In February 1945, U-327 was sunk
has ended. All we could now hope to the concerted efforts of VP-63, VB-127, by VPB-112 and five surface units; U-
do was fight a delaying action and . . . the Royal Air Force and two surface 681 was sunk in March by VPB-103;
to tie down the forces of the enemy.” units. March and May saw the loss of and the last U-boat lost to American
Submarine losses to American patrol U-392 and U-731, both to VP-63 and patrol aviation in WW II was U-l 107,
aviation during the fourth quarter of two surface units. sunk by VPB-103. The European war
1943 included U-336, which fell to VB- In an attempt to foil Allied plans for ended with the surrender of Germany
128 in October; U-848 and U-849 sunk a possible invasion, Adm. Doenitz com- on 8 May 1945, VE day.
by VB-107; U-966 sunk by VB-103, municated anti-invasion dispositions to The Germans hoped to deploy their
VB-110 and a Royal Air Force Czech- his submarines in May 1944. Communi- new design Type XXI, XXIII and XXVI
manned B-24; and U-508 killed by VB- cations intelligence intercepted and submarines, with submerged endurance
103 in November. decoded this information. When the and high underwater speed, in numbers
From November 1943 through the Germans recognized the Normandy which would change the outcome of the
end of May 1944, the U-boats were im- landings were under way, Doenitz sig- war. Like many other German “miracle
portant to Germany only in that they naled execution of his plan. The weapons,” the advent of these subma-
kept Allied shipping in convoy and tied intense Allied antisubmarine efforts rines was far too late to have any
down increasing numbers of antisub- which followed prevented significant effect on the war. Only two Type XXI
marine warfare forces. During this loss to the invasion forces. boats came into service.
period, Atlantic patrol aviation grew to The invasion of France, Allied coun- In the final analysis, patrol aviation
peak at 25 patrol and 20 bombing termeasures, increased air patrols and in the Atlantic in WW II played a signifi-
squadrons. Significant new systems the availability of timely, accurate and cant role in winning the Battle of the
came into use and contributed to suc- decrypted radio intelligence worked to- Atlantic and established the basis for
cess: the sonobuoy, introduced in gether to drive the U-boats from their future American and allied advances
June 1943, and the L-7 searchlight, French bases. The availability of the in air antisubmarine warfare through
first used in a night attack in Decem- snorkel underwater breathing device the years of the cold war submarine
ber. Magnetic Anomaly Detection enabled many to evade, but the sub- threat and up to this time. n