Bloodstained Sea : The U. S. Coast Guard in the Battle of the Atlantic, 1941-1944

by Walling, Michael G.

• ISBN13: 9780071424011
• ISBN10: 0071424016
• Edition: 1st
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2004-05-25
• Publisher: International Marine/Ragged Mountain Press

Summary

Historic battles, daring rescues, and covert missions-the untold story of the U.S. Coast Guard in World War II Americans called it "Torpedo Junction," Germans "Devil's Gorge," but historians know it as the Battle of the Atlantic-the four-year Allied struggle to move desperately needed supplies from America to Europe through devastating assaults by German U-boats, ships, and aircraft. Now for the first time, Bloodstained Sea describes in vivid detail the heroic actions of the Coast Guard ships that defended Allied convoys en route through the North Atlantic to England and Russia. Eyewitness accounts assembled from hundreds of interviews propel this breathtaking, meticulously researched plunge into the thick of a battle fought mostly in the frozen seas east of Greenland. There, courageous but overmatched Coast Guard escorts braved the torpedo attacks of U-boat wolf packs to rescue thousands of men while thousands of others perished. Told in the voices of the men who lived it, this epic drama reveals the indomitable fighting spirit of the World War II Coast Guard.

Author Biography

Michael G. Walling (Hudson, MA) served as a commissioned officer in the Coast Guard and has spent the last 40 years collecting stories from hundreds of World War II veterans. He is a member of the Coast Guard Auxiliary and a Search and Rescue volunteer.

Table of Contents

Introduction

1. Loomings

September 1939October 1941

2. On the Edge

November 1941January 1942

3. Into the Abyss

FebruaryAugust 1942

4. Torpedo Junction

September 1942January 1943

5. No Time for the Dead

February 1943

6. Turning Point

MarchApril 1943

7. Sea Change

May 1943December 1944

8. Final Duty

Appendices

U.S. Coast Guard Fleet During World War II

U.S. Military and German Navy Ranks

The Allied Convoy System

USCGC Alexander Hamilton Citation

President Franklin D. Roosevelts Fireside Chat

The Atlantic Charter

Glossary

Notes

Sources

Acknowledgments

Index

Photographs may be found following page 164.