Sealing the Breach

[Music] and now ceiling the breach I ask that the Congress declare that since the unprovoked and dastardly attack by Japan on Sunday December 7th 1941 a state of War has existed president roselt speaks and the armed forces act Naval secretaries Knox and faral put into effect War plans previously prepared in the event of national disaster one of the Navy's primary duties is the enormously complex task of funneling the means of survival to our forces and allies overseas shipping must be found and assembled convoys organized and caros assigned but first orders directives requisitions and more orders orders to shipyards orders to Bases orders to railroads and orders To America that her factories and workers might begin producing in quantities The boldest Economist never dreamed of that the axis leaders never dreamed of either fulfilling the orders is only the beginning the products must be sent soonest where they will count [Music] most oil oil the black blood of the Machine age is democracy's greatest material asset without it she is defenseless without it defeat is certain from a port in the Gulf of Mexico a tanker sets out on her long voyage to England but first she heads for New York traveling along well- defined Coastal Convoy routes made necessary by daring German submarines now operating off the very shores of the United States from time to time more ships are fed into the Convoy as it passes key ports life on the tanker has none of the glamour of the grander ships but unless the merchant Sailors get their cargo across the ocean the battleships will be useless the carriers might as well be scuttled she's a dowy old girl the tanker but she's the queen of the convoys Coastal convoys are organized into an interlocking system that operates like a railroad Network ships are shuttled back and forth under maximum protection of local escort vessels and air cover from strategically located land bases Navy PB roam the air in predetermined patterns in the Convoy areas ready to warn the ships or attack the uots but the wary Subs are seldom cited far more often what the PB spot is the work of the Unseen enemy [Music] sometimes the enemy leaves a trace or what looks like a trace an oil slick the warning goes out at once and a smoke bomb marks the spot an escort picks up the pb's alert General quarter sound search for the enemy is on the sonar man seeks the underwater Echo that will betray the sub's position no response false alarm all along the coast cities keep their peacetime lights glowing until they learn how this benefits the enemy the lights are beacons for the lurking you boats offshore enemy eyes are patiently peeled waiting for a silhouette a Target [Music] prepare to service [Applause] deck guns are in order so bold have the Germans become they dare to fight openly on the surface a few miles off Main Street USA [Music] Dawn the survivors have gone The Killers have [Music] fled a few random traces in the indifferent sea show a convoy has has passed a submarine has struck the first leg of the voyage is almost over New York into whose Harbor pours the wealth of North and South America offers a temporary Haven here the Gulf Port tankers rest waiting to be reassembled with other ships into a transatlantic Convoy designated hx0 ships fill their empty holes with waiting cargo stuffing them to the bursting Point getting these supplies to their destination safely will be a dominating Factor throughout the war this is what the battle of the Atlantic is all about [Music] the operation of a convoy requires organization seamanship and a knowledge of the enemy Merchant captains and escort commanders get last minute instructions from the Convoy Commodore and Intelligence Officers some of these men will not live through the ordeal ahead for all of them it's only a step or two from the conference table into battle a battle that will begin as soon as their ships put to Sea nothing is left untried to give the convoys protection from their Lake New Jersey base the Navy's lighter than airships cover the convoys it puts to Sea the stately blimps Laing overhead are a comfort and a reassurance to the sailors below as they head into the unknown [Music] the Convoy 50 or 60 ships scattered across 30 miles of ocean must be kept under constant coordinated control the course zigzags to battle submarines and precise navigation keeps All Ships moving in unism according to a pre-arranged timet and [Music] pattern meanwhile the escorts act as Watchdogs with the aid of all the intricate new devices that science has added to Ward seed but there are not yet enough of them leaving dangerous holes in the ring of protection around the Convoy [Music] each Captain is responsible for maintaining his ship's proper speed and position the strain of maintaining station never ceases the ship that straggles behind is doomed but for the sailor's off duty shipboard life takes a deceptively normal course until it is their turn to go on watch again [Music] Convoy hx0 is still a long way from England as it heads into the perilous Open Spaces of the North Atlantic the royal Canadian Air Force furnishes coverage from bases in new submarines can neither surface nor attack as long as aircraft are overhead but there are still vast stretches of the ocean over which no air umbrella can be spread in this fatal Gap the convoys are almost helpless the ubot almost Invincible fog the ancient curse of mariners intensifies all hazards of a hostile seed the Convoy must slow down a dangerous desperate measure reduced speed favors the enemy but Collision would be disastrous [Music] the men in the Convoy nerves raw and weary to the point of exhaustion strain their eyes their brains their Fai but to no avail [Music] [Music] an escort ship signals the Convoy to proceed while she tries to locate the enemy and Counterattack but the battlewise German seamen know what to do submerge head for the bottom cut the engines sweat out the depth char [Music] the tactics work the escort loses contact and gives up the German is safe safe to kill again the submarine's eyes and ears have no difficulty in locating a helpless straggler that lost its Convoy station in the fog surface why waste a [Music] torpedo the ship's armed guard has pathetically little with which to resist but they fight back with all they have ship to sub gun to gun Full Speed Ahead The Hunt is still [Music] on the wounded Convoy shuffles along its agonizing course tired Lookouts and signalment help pull the Convoy together and as the ships head into more Northerly latitudes the we will become worse rendering detection gear less effective as the sea takes over [Music] la [Music] calm seas are welcomed by All Hands seick Sailors can hold up their heads those sore from the buffeting can relax everyone can dry out all hands eat hot food again clear skies bring relief and the men tend to forget the enemy but their captains know this is folly there is no safety in these Waters True the Convoy is closer to England but it's also closer to German air bases now the enemy is over the ocean as well as under it scouting planes are constantly searching for Allied convoys eager to spot one and radio its position course and speed back to base [Music] instantaneously efficiently the message is decoded at ubot headquarters on the French Coast where the Convoy's position is plotted Admiral dnet Master of the Nazi submarines devises plans for a major attack by OTS in the area he reckons their positions in relation to the Convoy and organizes them into a wolf pack in a matter of minutes the subm Marines have top secret orders to randevu and proceed to a designated spot in the path of the Convoy the leader of the pack scans The Horizon for the Convoy interception is perfect theal submerge [Music] wolf pack is deployed around the Convoy giving each Skipper his own share of the spoils no ship is safe [Music] the Battle Is Over the ships are sunk the men are dead surviving ships have not much further to go the long Voyage is almost over England Grim England to these Sailors means [Music] victory victory in the battle of the Atlantic the men some of them the ships some of them the supplies some of them get through get through to bring final Victory a little nearer [Music] but who can measure the cost [Music]