The U.S. Navy, the Neutrality Patrol, and Atlantic Fleet Escort Operations, 1939-1941

• Main Author: Hussey, Brian F.
• Other Authors: NAVAL ACADEMY ANNAPOLIS MD
• Format: Text
• Language: English
• Published: 1991
• Subjects: Naval Surface Warfare; *WARFARE; UNITED STATES; COASTAL REGIONS; NEUTRAL; NAVY; PATROLLING; CANADA; SURFACES; FLEETS(SHIPS); VEHICLES; ATLANTIC OCEAN; SOUTH AMERICA; BATTLESHIPS; DESTROYERS; ICELAND; UNITED KINGDOM; GLOBAL; *NAVAL OPERATIONS; PATROL CRAFT; ESCORT SHIPS; ATLANTIC FLEET; Canada; Battleship; Iceland
• Online Access: http://www.dtic.mil/docs/citations/ADA245396; http://oai.dtic.mil/oai/oai?&verb=getRecord&metadataPrefix=html&identifier=ADA245396

Although the United States was officially neutral until 7 December 1941, the U.S. Navy entered World War II on 5 September 1939 when the CNO, Admiral Harold R. Stark, initiated Neutrality Patrol operations in the Caribbean and in waters 200 miles off the coasts of North and South America. During 1940, the Navy conducted battleship sweeps deep into the Atlantic to deter Axis surface raiders and U-boats from entering the Neutrality Zone, and also moved toward a solid Anglo-American alliance, one vehicle being information exchanges between OpNav and the Admiralty. The negotiation of the ABC-1 Agreement in March 1941 increased Anglo-American collaboration. Atlantic Fleet patrols became more aggressive and the fleet doubled in size. By September, the Atlantic Fleet's Support Force, in conjunction with the Royal Canadian Navy, was ready to commence escort-of-convoy operations, and that same month, Atlantic Fleet destroyers escorted their first convoy from Halifax to Iceland. A handful of convoys were attacked, but the Atlantic Fleet used these experiences to fashion an effective escort-of-convoy doctrine.