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1940 The Second World War at Sea in Photographs
January 1940
January 1940 saw the escalation of the sea war between Britain and Germany. U-boats would claim numerous casualties, including HMS Exmouth and all 135 of her crew on 21 January 1940.
February
In February, Hitler ordered unrestricted submarine warfare, while HMS Cossack rescued crews of British ships sunk by the Graf Spee from the supply ship Altmark.
March
An air raid on the naval base at Scapa Flow saw the first British civilian casualties of the war.
April
Two invasions of Norway began, with the Germans ultimate victors. HMS Glorious was sunk during the evacuation of British troops and aircraft.
May
May saw Dunkirk, the British rescue of some 334,000 troops.
June
The Lancastria was sunk with the loss of over 6,000 lives.
July
July saw an attack on the French fleet by the British, in an effort to deny the battleships to the Germans.
August
The Americans agreed to supply Britain with aged destroyers in exchange for bases.
September
The invasion of Britain, Operation Sealion, was set for September.
November
HMS Jervis Bay was sunk while escorting a convoy, many of which managed to escape.
End of Year
The year ended with a continued assault on British ships by U-boats.
Using many rarely seen images, Phil Carradice tells the story of 1940: The War at Sea.
