Military fleet of the USSR of the Second World War. History of the Russian Navy: “The Fleet during World War II

FRENCH NAVY IN 1939

When the war began in September 1939, the French fleet consisted of seven battleships, including two old battleships, Paris and Courbet, three old, but modernized in 1935-36. battleships - "Brittany", "Provence" and "Lorraine", two new battleships "Strasbourg" and "Dunkirk".

There were two aircraft carriers: the aircraft carrier Béarn and the air transport Commandant Test.

There were 19 cruisers, of which 7 1st class cruisers - "Duquesne", "Tourville", "Suffren", "Colbert", "Foch", "Duplex" and "Algerie"; 12 2nd class cruisers - "Duguet-Trouin", "La Motte-Pique", "Primogue", "La Tour d'Auvergne" (formerly "Pluto"), "Jeanne d'Arc", "Emile Bertin", " La Galissoniere", "Jean de Vienne", "Gloire", "Marseillaise", "Montcalm", "Georges Leygues".

The torpedo flotillas were also impressive. They numbered: 32 leaders - six ships each of the Jaguar, Gepar, Aigle, Vauquelin, Fantask types and two Mogador types; 26 destroyers - 12 Bourrasque type and 14 Adrua type, 12 Melpomene type destroyers.

The 77 submarines included the cruiser Surcouf, 38 class 1 submarines, 32 class 2 submarines and 6 underwater minelayers.

The total displacement of the 175 ships listed above was 554,422 tons. Apart from five old battleships, all other ships entered service after 1925, i.e. the fleet was relatively young.

There were four battleships under construction: Richelieu, Jean Bart, Clemenceau and Gascony. The first two were supposed to enter service in 1940. Two aircraft carriers were also built - Joffre and Painlevé - but they were not completed.

In construction were 3 2nd class cruisers (De Grasse, Chateau Renault, Guichen), 4 Mogador class leaders, 12 Ardi class destroyers, 14 Fier class destroyers, 5 1st class submarines , 16 class 2 submarines, as well as 4 underwater minelayers. In total, there were 64 ships at various stages of construction with a total displacement of 271,495 tons.

To this list should be added advice, gunboats, minesweepers, sea hunters, torpedo boats, supply vessels. The latter were called up (requisitioned) during mobilization.

Naval aviation is too weak, but growing, and consisted of 45 attack aircraft, 32 bombers, 27 fighters, 39 reconnaissance aircraft, 46 torpedo bombers, 164 spotters, etc. In total, there were 159 ship-based aircraft and 194 coastal aircraft.

Veterans of the French Navy recall that its personnel were united, disciplined, possessed of high moral qualities and completely devoted to the nation.

The Commander-in-Chief of the Navy was Admiral Darlan. Since 1939 he was the chief of the Main Naval Staff. Before him, Admiral Durand-Viel held this post for seven years. Both of them were highly qualified specialists and were committed to updating the fleet after 1919. Darlan had the rank of full admiral (five stars on his sleeve) - the highest in the French fleet. He was a very experienced, active and determined person. However, he did not delve too deeply into questions of strategy, did not know the American fleet well, and underestimated the Russian one. But he changed his views in April 1940, and we will see how later. He enjoyed very high authority in the navy.

In September 1939, the structure of the fleet looked like this. Subordinate to the Commander-in-Chief, Admiral Darlan, were the commanders of the naval forces in the theaters of war, the commanders of the high seas forces and the prefects of the maritime areas. There were five of these districts: Cherbourg, Brest, Lorient, Toulon, Bizerte. Vice-Admiral Michelier, head of the ports department, earned his authority by directing the commissariat, sanitary service, shipbuilding and naval artillery.

Mr. Kampenschi was the Minister of State for the Navy. He was not involved in operational issues, but participated in the leadership of military operations as a member of the “war cabinet”, which included: the President of the Republic, the Prime Minister, the Minister of National Defense (Daladier), the Ministers of the Navy, Aviation (La Chambre), Colonies (Mandel) , Marshal Petain, Chief of the National Defense Staff (General Gamelin), three commanders in chief - the ground forces (General Georges), the Air Force (General Vuillemin) and the Navy (Darlan), the Chief of Staff of the colonial possessions (General Bührer). The chief of staff of the Minister of the Navy was Vice Admiral Guton.

Darlan's staff consisted of Rear Admiral Le Luc, Captain 1st Rank Ofan and Captain 1st Rank Negadel. The military mission in London was headed by Vice-Admiral Odendaal; The naval attaché was Captain 1st Rank Rivoire.

Maintaining truly powerful naval forces is a burdensome task for any economy in the world. Few countries could afford the Navy, which consumed enormous material resources. Military fleets became more of a political instrument than an effective force, and having powerful battleships was considered prestigious. But only 13 states in the world actually allowed this. Dreadnoughts were owned by: England, Germany, USA, Japan, France, Russia, Italy, Austria-Hungary, Spain, Brazil, Argentina, Chile and Turkey (the Turks captured and repaired one abandoned by the Germans in 1918 "Goeben").

After the First World War, Holland, Portugal and even Poland (with its 40-kilometer coastline) and China expressed a desire to have their own battleships, but these dreams remained on paper. Only rich and industrialized countries, including Tsarist Russia, could build a battleship on their own.

The First World War was the last in which large-scale naval battles took place between the warring parties, the largest of which was the Naval Battle of Jutland between the British and German fleets. With the development of aviation, large ships became vulnerable and subsequently the striking force was transferred to the aircraft carrier. Nevertheless, battleships continued to be built, and only the Second World War showed the futility of this direction in military shipbuilding.

After the end of the First World War, the hulls of giant ships froze on the stocks of the victorious countries. According to the project, for example, French "Lyon" was supposed to have sixteen 340 mm guns. The Japanese laid down ships, next to which the English battlecruiser "Hood" would look like a teenager. The Italians completed the construction of four super battleships of the type "Francesco Coracciolo"(34,500 tons, 28 knots, eight 381 mm guns).

But the British went the furthest - their 1921 battlecruiser project envisaged the creation of monsters with a displacement of 48,000 tons, a speed of 32 knots and 406 mm guns. The four cruisers were supported by four battleships armed with 457 mm guns.

However, the war-weary economies of states did not require a new arms race, but a pause. Then diplomats got down to business.

The United States decided to fix the ratio of naval forces at the achieved level and forced other Entente countries to agree to this (Japan had to be “persuaded” very harshly). On November 12, 1921, a conference was held in Washington. On February 6, 1922, after fierce disputes, it was signed "Treaty of the Five Powers", which established the following world realities:

no new buildings for 10 years, except two battleships for England;

the ratio of fleet forces between the USA, Great Britain, Japan, France and Italy should be 5: 5: 3: 1.75: 1.75;

after a ten-year pause, no battleship can be replaced by a new one if it is younger than 20 years;

the maximum displacement should be: for a battleship - 35,000 tons, for an aircraft carrier - 32,000 tons and for a cruiser - 10,000 tons;

the maximum caliber of guns should be: for battleships - 406 millimeters, for a cruiser - 203 millimeters.

The British fleet was reduced by 20 dreadnoughts. Regarding this treaty, a famous historian Chris Marshall wrote: “How the former British Prime Minister A. Belfour could sign such an agreement is absolutely beyond my understanding!”

Washington Conference determined the course of the history of military shipbuilding for a quarter of a century and had the most disastrous consequences for it.

First of all, the ten-year pause in construction, and especially the limitation of displacement, stopped the normal evolution of large ships. Within the contractual framework, it was unrealistic to create a balanced project for a cruiser or dreadnought. They sacrificed speed and created well-protected but slow-moving ships. They sacrificed protection - they went down into the water "cardboard" cruisers. The creation of the ship is the result of the efforts of the entire heavy industry, therefore the artificial limitation on the qualitative and quantitative improvement of the fleet led to a severe crisis.

In the mid-1930s, when the proximity of a new war became obvious, the Washington agreements were denounced (dissolved). A new stage in the construction of heavy ships has begun. Alas, the shipbuilding system was broken. Fifteen years of lack of practice dried up the creative thought of the designers. As a result, ships were initially created with serious defects. By the beginning of World War II, the fleets of all powers were morally obsolete, and most of the ships were physically obsolete. Numerous modernizations of the courts have not changed the situation.

During the entire Washington pause, only two battleships were built - English "Nelson" And "Rodney"(35,000 t, length - 216.4 m, width - 32.3 m, 23 knots; armor: belt - 356 mm, towers - 406 mm, wheelhouse - 330 mm, deck - 76-160 mm, nine 406 mm, twelve 152 mm and six 120 mm guns). Under the Washington Treaty, Britain managed to negotiate some advantage for itself: it retained the opportunity to build two new ships. The designers had to rack their brains about how to fit maximum combat capabilities into a ship with a displacement of 35,000 tons.

First of all, they abandoned high speed. But limiting the weight of the engine alone was not enough, so the British decided to radically change the layout, placing all the main caliber artillery in the bow. This arrangement made it possible to significantly reduce the length of the armored citadel, but it turned out to be very powerful. In addition, 356-mm plates were placed at a 22-degree angle inside the hull and were moved under the outer skin. The tilt sharply increased the resistance of the armor at high angles of impact of the projectile, which occurs when firing from a long distance. The outer casing tore the Makarov tip off the projectile. The citadel was covered with a thick armored deck. 229 mm traverses were installed from the bow and stern. But outside the citadel, the battleship remained practically unprotected - a classic example of the “all or nothing” system.

"Nelson"could not fire the main caliber directly at the stern, but the unfired sector was limited to 30 degrees. The bow corners were almost not covered by anti-mine artillery, because all six two-gun turrets with 152-mm cannons occupied the rear end. The mechanical installation moved closer to the stern. All control of the ship was concentrated in a high tower-like superstructure - another innovation. Latest classic dreadnoughts "Nelson" And "Rodney" laid down in 1922, launched in 1925, and commissioned in 1927.

Shipbuilding before World War II

Washington Treaty limited the construction of new battleships, but could not stop progress in shipbuilding.

The First World War forced experts to reconsider their views on the conduct of naval operations and the further technical equipment of warships. Military shipbuilding had to, on the one hand, use all the production achievements of modern industry, and on the other, by setting its demands, encourage industry to work on improving materials, structures, mechanisms and weapons.

Armor

With regard to the manufacture of thick cemented armor plates, few improvements were made in the post-war period, since their quality almost reached its limit at the beginning of the 20th century. However, it was still possible to improve the deck armor by using special tough steels. This innovation was especially important due to the increase in combat distance and the emergence of a new threat - aviation. Deck armor in 1914 weighed about 2 thousand tons, and on new battleships its weight was increased to 8-9 thousand tons. This is due to a significant increase in horizontal protection. There were two armored decks: the main one - along the upper edge of the armor belt, and below it - anti-fragmentation. Sometimes a third thin deck was placed above the main one - the platoon deck, for tearing off the armor-piercing tip from the shells. A new type of armor was introduced - bulletproof (5-20 mm), which was used for local protection of personnel from shrapnel and machine-gun fire from aircraft. In military shipbuilding, high-carbon steels and electric welding were introduced to build hulls, which made it possible to significantly reduce weight.

The quality of the armor remained almost equivalent to that of the First World War, but the caliber of artillery on the new ships increased. There was a simple rule for side armor: its thickness should be greater than or approximately equal to the caliber of the guns fired at it. We had to increase the protection again, but it was no longer possible to greatly thicken the armor. The total weight of armor on old battleships was no more than 10 thousand tons, and on the newest ones - about 20 thousand! Then they began to make the armor belt inclined.

Artillery

During the First World War, as in the pre-war years, artillery developed rapidly. In 1910, ships of the type were launched in England "Orion", armed with ten 343 mm cannons. This gun weighed 77.35 tons and fired a 635-kg projectile at a distance of 21.7 kilometers. The sailors realized that "Orion" just the beginning in increasing the caliber, and the industry began to work in this direction.

In 1912, the United States switched to a 356-mm caliber, while Japan installed 14-inch guns on its battleships ( "Congo") and even Chile ( "Admiral Cochrane"). The gun weighed 85.5 tons and fired a 720 kg projectile. In response, the British laid down five battleships of the type in 1913. "Queen Elizabeth", armed with eight 15-inch (381 mm) guns. These ships, unique in their characteristics, were deservedly considered the most formidable participants in the First World War. Their main caliber gun weighed 101.6 tons and sent an 879-kg projectile at a speed of 760 m/s to a distance of 22.5 kilometers.

The Germans, who realized it later than other states, managed to build battleships at the very end of the war Bayer And "Baden", armed with 380 mm guns. The German ships were almost identical to the British, but by this time the Americans had installed eight 16-inch (406 mm) guns on their new battleships. Japan will soon switch to a similar caliber. The gun weighed 118 tons and shot 1015-kg projectile

But the last word still remained with the Lady of the Seas - the large light cruiser Furies, laid down in 1915, was intended to install two 457 mm guns True, in 1917, without ever entering service, the cruiser was converted into an aircraft carrier. The forward single-gun turret was replaced by a 49-meter-long take-off deck. The gun weighed 150 tons and could send a 1,507-kg projectile 27.4 kilometers every 2 minutes. But even this monster was not destined to become the largest weapon in the entire history of the fleet.

In 1940, the Japanese built their super battleship "Yamato" armed with nine 460-mm cannons mounted in three huge towers. The gun weighed 158 tons, had a length of 23.7 meters and fired a projectile weighing between 1330 before 1630 kilograms (depending on type). At an elevation angle of 45 degrees, these 193-centimeter products flew to 42 kilometers, rate of fire - 1 shot per 1.5 minutes.

Around the same time, the Americans managed to create a very successful cannon for their latest battleships. Their 406 mm gun with barrel length 52 caliber produced 1155-kg projectile with speed 900 km/h. When the gun was used as a coastal gun, that is, the limitation of the elevation angle, inevitable in the turret, disappeared, the firing range reached 50,5 kilometer

Guns of similar power were designed in Soviet Union for planned battleships. On July 15, 1938, the first giant (65,000 tons) was laid down in Leningrad; its 406-mm cannon could throw thousand-kilogram shells over 45 kilometers. When German troops approached Leningrad in the fall of 1941, they were among the first to be met from a distance of 45.6 kilometers by shells from an experimental gun - a prototype of the main caliber guns of a never-built battleship installed at the Naval Research Artillery Range.

Ship turrets are also being significantly improved. Firstly, their design made it possible to give the guns large elevation angles, which became necessary to increase the firing range. Secondly, the loading mechanisms of the guns were thoroughly improved, which made it possible to increase the rate of fire to 2-2.5 rounds per minute. Thirdly, the aiming system is being improved. In order to correctly aim a gun at a moving target, you must be able to smoothly rotate turrets weighing more than a thousand tons, and at the same time this must be done quite quickly. Before World War II, the highest rotation speed was increased to 5 degrees per second. Anti-mine weapons are also being improved. Their caliber remains the same - Ш5-152 mm, but instead of deck installations or casemates they are placed in towers, this leads to an increase in the combat rate of fire to 7-8 rounds per minute.

Battleships began to be armed not only with main-caliber guns and anti-mine (it would be more correct to say anti-destroying) artillery, but also with anti-aircraft guns. As the combat qualities of aviation grew, anti-aircraft artillery strengthened and multiplied. By the end of World War II, the number of barrels reached 130-150. Anti-aircraft artillery was adopted in two types. Firstly, these are universal caliber guns (100-130 mm), that is, capable of firing at both air and sea targets. There were 12-20 of these guns. They could reach the plane at an altitude of 12 kilometers. Secondly, small-caliber automatic anti-aircraft guns with a caliber of 40 to 20 millimeters were used to fire at aircraft quickly maneuvering at low altitude. These systems were usually installed in multi-barrel circular installations.

Mine protection

The designers also paid great attention to the protection of battleships from torpedo weapons. With the explosion of several hundred kilograms of powerful explosives filling the warhead of a torpedo, gases with colossal pressure are formed. But water does not compress, so the ship’s hull receives an instant blow, as if by a hammer made of gases and water. This blow is delivered from below, under water, and is dangerous because a huge amount of water immediately rushes into the hole. By the beginning of the First World War, it was believed that such a wound was fatal.

The idea of an underwater defense device originated in the Russian Navy. At the beginning of the 20th century, a young engineer R. R. Svirsky came to the idea of a peculiar "underwater armor" in the form of intermediate chambers separating the explosion site from the vital parts of the ship and weakening the force of the impact on the bulkheads. However, the project was lost in bureaucratic offices for some time. Subsequently, this type of underwater protection appeared on battleships.

Four onboard protection systems against torpedo explosions were developed. The outer skin had to be thin so as not to produce massive fragments; behind it there was an expansion chamber - an empty space that allowed explosive gases to expand and reduce pressure, then an absorption chamber that received the remaining energy of the gases. A light bulkhead was placed behind the absorption chamber, forming a filtration compartment, in case the previous bulkhead allowed water to pass through.

In the German on-board protection system, the absorption chamber consisted of two longitudinal bulkheads, the inner one being 50 mm armored. The space between them was filled with coal. The English system consisted of installing boules (convex hemispherical pieces made of thin metal on the sides), the outer part of which formed an expansion chamber, then there was a space filled with cellulose, then two bulkheads - 37 mm and 19 mm, forming a space filled with oil, and filtration compartment. The American system was distinguished by the fact that five watertight bulkheads were placed behind the thin skin. The Italian system was based on the fact that a cylindrical pipe made of thin steel ran along the body. The space inside the pipe was filled with oil. They began to make the bottom of ships triple.

Of course, all battleships had fire control systems that made it possible to automatically calculate gun aiming angles depending on the range to the target, the speed of their ship and the enemy ship, and communications that made it possible to transmit messages from anywhere in the ocean, as well as to find the direction of enemy ships.

In addition to the surface fleet, the submarine fleet also developed rapidly. Submarines were much cheaper, quickly built and inflicted serious damage on the enemy. The most impressive successes in World War II were achieved by German submariners who sank during the war years 5861 merchant ship (counted with a displacement of over 100 tons) total tonnage 13,233,672 tons. In addition, they were sunk 156 warships, including 10 battleships.

To the beginning of World War II England, Japan And USA had in their arsenal aircraft carriers. One aircraft carrier had and France. Built her own aircraft carrier and Germany, however, despite a high degree of readiness, the project was frozen and some historians believe that the Luftwaffe chief had a hand in this Hermann Goering who did not want to receive carrier-based aircraft beyond his control.

However, the war-weary economies of states did not require a new arms race, but a pause. Then diplomats got down to business.

no new buildings for 10 years, except two battleships for England;

the ratio of fleet forces between the USA, Great Britain, Japan, France and Italy should be 5: 5: 3: 1.75: 1.75;

after a ten-year pause, no battleship can be replaced by a new one if it is younger than 20 years;

the maximum displacement should be: for a battleship - 35,000 tons, for an aircraft carrier - 32,000 tons and for a cruiser - 10,000 tons;

the maximum caliber of guns should be: for battleships - 406 millimeters, for a cruiser - 203 millimeters.

Washington Conference determined the course of the history of military shipbuilding for a quarter of a century and had the most disastrous consequences for it.

Shipbuilding before World War II

Washington Treaty limited the construction of new battleships, but could not stop progress in shipbuilding.

The First World War forced experts to reconsider their views on the conduct of naval operations and the further technical equipment of warships. Military shipbuilding had to, on the one hand, use all the production achievements of modern industry, and on the other hand, by setting its demands, encourage industry to work on improving materials, structures, mechanisms and weapons.

Armor

Artillery

Ship turrets are also being significantly improved. Firstly, their design made it possible to give the guns large elevation angles, which became necessary to increase the firing range. Secondly, the loading mechanisms of the guns were thoroughly improved, which made it possible to increase the rate of fire to 2-2.5 rounds per minute. Thirdly, the aiming system is being improved. In order to correctly aim a gun at a moving target, you must be able to smoothly rotate turrets weighing more than a thousand tons, and at the same time this must be done quite quickly. Before World War II, the highest rotation speed was increased to 5 degrees per second. Anti-mine weapons are also being improved. Their caliber remains the same - Ш5 - 152 mm, but instead of deck installations or casemates they are placed in towers, this leads to an increase in the combat rate of fire to 7-8 rounds per minute.

Mine protection

In the German on-board protection system, the absorption chamber consisted of two longitudinal bulkheads, with the inner one being 50 mm armored. The space between them was filled with coal. The English system consisted of installing boules (convex hemispherical pieces made of thin metal on the sides), the outer part of which formed an expansion chamber, then there was a space filled with cellulose, then two bulkheads - 37 mm and 19 mm, forming a space filled with oil, and filtration compartment. The American system was distinguished by the fact that five watertight bulkheads were placed behind the thin skin. The Italian system was based on the fact that a cylindrical pipe made of thin steel ran along the body. The space inside the pipe was filled with oil. They began to make the bottom of ships triple.

The first part of the work is about the French fleet in World War II. Covers the period before the British Operation Menace against Dakar. The second part, published in Russian for the first time, describes the operations of the French fleet in remote areas, Operation Torch, the self-sinking of the fleet in Toulon and the revival of the fleet. The reader will also be interested in the appendices. The book is written in a very biased manner.

PREFACE

The victory over fascism in World War II was the result of coalition actions. France took its rightful place among the victorious powers. But her path to the camp of the anti-Hitler coalition was tortuous. The fleet shared all the ups and downs with the country. There is a book about its history by the French military historian L. Garros.

The material presented to the readers is divided into two parts. This issue includes chapters on the actions of the French Navy in 1939–1940: the Norwegian and French campaigns, the actions of the fleet in the war with Italy, and then the battles with the British in Mers-el-Kebir and Dakar. The second part of this book describes the events of 1941–1945: the armed conflict with Siam, actions off the coast of Syria in 1941, the Madagascar operation, events related to the North African landing of the Allies and the history of the naval forces of the Free French.

L. Garros's book is very original in some aspects. After reading it, you will probably notice a number of features.

Firstly, this is the French “specificity” of this work, which is unusual for our readers. L. Garros has a high opinion of Marshal Petain, considers General de Gaulle almost a traitor, the history of the French Navy in World War II is essentially reduced to the history of the Vichy fleet, for which the naval forces of the Free French were the enemy.

Secondly, the absence of a number of known episodes is puzzling. The book does not say a word about the participation of French ships in the search for German raiders and intercepting blockade breakers, the convoy activity of the fleet is poorly reflected, the raid of destroyers on Gibraltar in September 1940 and some other operations are not described, and the outstanding successes of the underwater minelayer "Ruby" are ignored. ... But there are a lot of fictitious victories and savoring, perhaps courageous, but actions that did not have any influence on the course of the war. Sometimes the author almost slips into a frankly adventurous genre, for example, describing the adventures of officer Boilambert, who does not know where and with whom he spent the night.

Part 1 FRENCH NAVY IN 1939

There were two aircraft carriers: the aircraft carrier Béarn and the air transport Commandant Test.

The torpedo flotillas were also impressive. They numbered: 32 leaders

Six ships each of the Jaguar, Gepar, Aigle, Vauquelin, Fantask types and two Mogador types; 26 destroyers - 12 Bourrasque type and 14 Adrua type, 12 Melpomene type destroyers.

The 77 submarines included the cruiser Surcouf, 38 class 1 submarines, 32 class 2 submarines and 6 underwater minelayers.

COMBAT OPERATIONS FROM SEPTEMBER 1939 TO MAY 1940,

In September 1939, the disposition of the French fleet was mainly directed against Italy, although it was not specified how it would behave.

The British believed that the French fleet should guard the Strait of Gibraltar, while they concentrated their fleet almost entirely in the North Sea against the Kriegsmarine. On September 1, Italy made it clear that it would not take any hostile action, and the French disposition was changed: the Mediterranean Sea became a secondary theater of operations, which would not present any obstacles to navigation. Convoys delivering troops from North Africa to the North-Eastern Front and the Middle East moved unhindered. Anglo-French superiority at sea over Germany was overwhelming, especially since the latter was not ready to wage a naval war.

The Kriegsmarine command expected that hostilities would begin no earlier than 1944. Germany had only two battleships, Scharnhorst and Gneisenau, three pocket battleships, five light cruisers, 50 destroyers, 60 submarines, of which only half were ocean-going

The total displacement of the ships of its fleet was only 1/7 of that of the Allies.

By agreement with the British Admiralty, the French fleet assumed responsibility for operations off the French coast of the North Sea, then in the area south of the English Channel, as well as in the Bay of Biscay and in the western Mediterranean.

MEDITERRANEAN SEA

As it became increasingly clear that Italy would enter the war, ships of the Atlantic Fleet assembled in the Mediterranean in late April 1940. They stood on the roadstead of Mers el-Kebir under the command of Vice Admiral Zhansul:

1st squadron (Vice Admiral Zhansul) - 1st division of battleships: "Dunkirk" (Captain 1st Rank Segen) and "Strasbourg" (Captain 1st Rank Collinet); 4th Cruiser Division (commander - Rear Admiral Bourrage): "Georges Leygues" (Captain 1st Rank Barnot), "Gloire" (Captain 1st Rank Broussignac), "Montcalm" (Captain 1st Rank de Corbières).

2nd Light Squadron (Rear Admiral Lacroix) - 6th, 8th and 10th leader divisions.

2nd Squadron (Rear Admiral Buzen) - 2nd Division of battleships: "Provence" (Captain 1st Rank Barrois), "Brittany" (Captain 1st Rank Le Pivin); 4th division of leaders.

4th squadron (commander - Rear Admiral Marquis) - 3rd cruiser division: "Marseieuse" (captain 1st rank Amon), "La Galissoniere" (captain 1st rank Dupre), "Jean de Vienne" (captain 1st rank Missof ).

June Truce

While the described fighting was going on, the government and the general staff were increasingly inclined to think about the need to conclude a truce, since it was clear that further resistance was impossible. On June 10, the Admiralty evacuated its headquarters from Montenon to Er-et-Loire, 75 km from Paris, and soon to Guéritand, where there was a communications point; On June 17, following the incoming army, the admiralty moved to the castle of Dulamon near Marseille, on the 28th it reached Nérac in the Lot-et-Garonne department, and finally, on July 6, it ended up in Vichy.

Beginning on May 28, Admiral Darlan, anticipating the worst, informed his subordinates that if hostilities ended in a truce, under the terms of which the enemy demanded the surrender of the fleet, he “does not intend to obey this order.” Nothing could be clearer. This was said at the height of the evacuation from Dunkirk, when the British were feverishly loading ships. The fleet does not give up. This was stated clearly, precisely, definitively.

At the same time, it was assumed that ships capable of continuing the fight would go to England or even Canada. These were normal precautions in case the Germans demanded the release of the fleet. Neither Prime Minister Paul Reynaud nor Marshal Petain thought for a minute to leave the fleet still capable of fighting to such a sad fate. Only a few ships were lost at Dunkirk - not too many that the sailors lost the will to resist. The fleet's morale was high; it did not consider itself defeated and did not intend to surrender. Subsequently, Admiral Darlan said to one of his loved ones: “If a truce is requested, I will end my career with a brilliant act of disobedience.” Later his way of thinking changed. The Germans proposed as a condition of the armistice that the French fleet be interned at Spithead (England) or scuttled. But in those days when the army's resistance was weakening and when it was clear that the victor would make his demands, and he could demand everything he wanted, Darlan had a strong desire to preserve the fleet. But how? Go to Canada, America, England at the head of your squadrons?

ENGLAND AND THE FRENCH FLEET

By this term we mean all those operations that unfolded on July 3, 1940 against French ships taking refuge in British ports, as well as those gathered in Mers-el-Kebir and Alexandria.

England has always in its history attacked the naval forces of its enemies, friends and neutrals, which seemed to it too developed, and did not take into account anyone's rights. The people, defending themselves in critical conditions, disregarded international law. France always followed it, and in 1940 too

After the June truce, French sailors had to be wary of the British. But they could not believe that the military camaraderie would be forgotten so quickly. England was afraid of Darlan's fleet going over to the enemy. If this fleet had fallen into the hands of the Germans, the situation would have gone from critical to disastrous for them. Hitler’s assurances, in the understanding of the British government, did not matter, and an alliance between France and Germany was quite possible. The English have lost their cool

This section provides information on the qualitative and numerical composition of the navies of the states that participated in the hostilities of the Second World War. In addition, data is provided on the fleets of some countries that officially occupied a neutral position, but actually provided assistance to one or another participant in the war. Ships that were unfinished or entered service after the end of the war were not taken into account. Vessels used for military purposes but flying a civilian flag were also not taken into account. Vessels transferred or received from one country to another (including under Lend-Lease agreements) were not taken into account, nor were captured or restored ships taken into account. For a number of reasons, data on lost landing ships and small ships, as well as boats, are given at minimum values and in fact may be significantly higher. The same applies to ultra-small submarines. When describing the tactical and technical characteristics, data on the time of the last modernization or rearmament was given.

Characterizing warships as weapons of war at sea, it should be noted that the purpose of such a war was the struggle for sea communications, as a means for the largest, most massive transportation. Depriving the enemy of the opportunity to use the sea for transport, while at the same time making extensive use of it for the same purposes, is the path to victory in the war. To gain and use supremacy at sea, a strong navy alone is not enough; it also requires large commercial and transport fleets, conveniently located bases and government leadership with a maritime mindset. Only the totality of all this ensures sea power.

To fight the navy, you have to concentrate all your forces, and to protect merchant shipping, you have to divide them. The nature of military operations at sea constantly fluctuates between these two poles. It is the nature of military operations that determines the need for certain warships, the specifics of their weapons and tactics of use.

In preparing for war, the leading maritime states applied various military naval doctrines, but none of them turned out to be effective or correct. And already during the war, with the utmost effort, it was necessary not only to adjust them, but to radically change them to suit the planned military actions.

Thus, the British Navy, based on outdated ships of the interwar period, placed its main emphasis on large artillery ships. The German Navy was building a massive submarine fleet. The Royal Italian Navy built fast light cruisers and destroyers, as well as small submarines with low technical specifications. The USSR, trying to replace the Tsarist Navy, quickly built ships of all classes of outdated models, relying on the doctrine of coastal defense. The basis of the US fleet was made up of heavy artillery ships and outdated destroyers. France strengthened its fleet with light artillery ships with a limited range. Japan built battleships and aircraft carriers.

Fundamental changes in the structure of fleets also occurred with the massive introduction of radars and sonars, as well as the development of communications. The use of aircraft identification systems, control of artillery and anti-aircraft fire, detection of underwater, surface and air targets, and radio reconnaissance also changed the tactics of fleets. Large naval battles faded into oblivion, and the war with the transport fleet became a priority.

The development of weapons (the emergence of new types of carrier-based aircraft, unguided missiles, new types of torpedoes, mines, bombs, etc.) allowed fleets to conduct independent operational and tactical military operations. The fleet was transformed from an auxiliary force of the ground forces into the main striking force. Aviation became an effective means of both fighting the enemy fleet and protecting one’s own.

Considering the course of the war in conjunction with technological progress, the development of fleets can be characterized as follows. At the initial stage of the war, the ever-increasing German submarine fleet actually blocked the sea communications of Great Britain and its allies. To protect them, a significant number of anti-submarine ships were required, and their equipment with sonar turned submarines from hunters into targets. The need to protect large surface ships, convoys and ensure future offensive operations required the massive construction of aircraft carriers. This characterizes the middle stage of the war. At the final stage, to conduct mass landing operations in both Europe and the Pacific, an urgent need arose for landing craft and support vessels.

All these problems could be solved only by the United States, whose powerful economy during the war years turned its allies into debtors for many years, and the country into a superstate. It should be noted that deliveries of ships under Lend-Lease agreements took place as part of the rearmament of the United States, i.e. the allies were given outdated ships, with low performance characteristics or without proper equipment. This applied equally to all recipients of assistance, incl. both the USSR and Great Britain.

It is also necessary to mention that both large and small US ships differed from ships of all other countries in the presence of comfortable living conditions for the crews. If in other countries, when building ships, priority was given to the quantity of weapons, ammunition, and fuel reserves, then American naval commanders put the comfort of the crew on a par with the requirements for the combat qualities of the ship.

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Table continuation

The total number of military fleets of 42 countries (possessing military fleets or at least one ship) that took part in World War II was 16.3 thousand ships, of which, according to incomplete data, at least 2.6 thousand were lost. In addition, The fleet included 55.3 thousand small ships, boats and landing craft, as well as 2.5 thousand submarines, excluding midget submarines.

The five countries with the largest fleets were: the USA, Great Britain, USSR, Germany and Japan, which had 90% of warships of the total number, 85% of submarines and 99% of small and landing craft.

Italy and France, with large fleets, as well as smaller ones, Norway and the Netherlands, were unable to effectively manage their ships, sinking some of them and becoming the main suppliers of trophies to the enemy.

It is possible to determine the significance of types of ships in military operations only taking into account the stages of the war. Thus, at the initial stage of the war, submarines played a dominant role, blocking enemy communications. In the middle stage of the war, the main role was played by destroyers and anti-submarine ships, which suppressed enemy submarine fleets. In the final stage of the war, aircraft carriers with support ships and landing ships took first place.

During the war, a merchant fleet with a tonnage of 34.4 million tons was sunk. At the same time, submarines accounted for 64%, aviation - 11%, surface ships - 6%, mines - 5%.

Of the total number of warships sunk in the fleets, approximately 45% were attributed to aviation, 30% to submarines, and 19% to surface ships.