Atlantic Convoy System

The Atlantic convoy system organized merchant ships into escorted groups to cross the North Atlantic under threat from submarines and surface raiders in both World Wars. Adopted reluctantly by the Admiralty in 1917 after unrestricted German U-boat warfare nearly starved Britain, convoying cut sinkings sharply by concentrating defenses and forcing submarines to attack escorts. The system was rebuilt in 1939 and, with escort carriers, long-range aircraft, and HF/DF and radar, defeated the wolfpacks by mid-1943. It is central to the history of the Battle of the Atlantic.