Library Reference Number: 211
The Battle of the Atlantic During World War 2
Being an ‘Island Nation’ has its advantages and disadvantages, and due to strict security silence during world war two, it is unlikely to this very day, if the British population had any real idea of how close they came to being cut off from food and vital supplies necessary to maintain their freedom.
While Britain had been lackadaisical in their approach, Germany under the cloak of ‘glider activities’ had built up a large credible air force and a massive presence in sea-power in the shape of u-boats. Although America did not enter the earlier part of the war, the US provided a life-line in goods and materials. The German build-up of a huge fleet of submarines however, provided a strangle-hold on America’s attempt to supply Britain. Allied shipping losses in this respect were extremely heavy.
Britain’s future at this time relied heavily on the outstanding role played by the Merchant Fleet, and before the advent of the long-range American B24 Liberator, the Sunderland flying boat played a vital part in trying to limit the huge number of casualties suffered by merchant shipping.
The Short Sunderland Flying Boat, from its introduction to RAF service in 1938 was to become one of the longest serving aircraft on front-line duties. It was one of the very few aircraft types to remain in operational service through the Second World War and the only RAF aircraft to perform front-line duties for the whole of the Korean War. When it finally retired in 1959, it had served in world-wide duties for a total of twenty one years and had built up a reputation as a tough and reliable workhorse.
Before USA eventually entered the war, and also the highly secret work being carried out on ‘Enigma’ at Bletchley Park pin-pointed the location of u-boats, it was a tough, hard life for those engaged in the battle of the mighty Atlantic. Indeed at one point it appeared as if those German undersea forces hell-bent on isolating Britain had succeeded when so many Allied losses at sea had produced so many appalling results.
By reflecting on the survival of one Sunderland Pilot during the battle of the Atlantic, one can perhaps gain some idea of the effort and determination displayed by aircrews of the Sunderland aircraft during those difficult times.
Wing Commander Derek Martin who lives in Colnbrook is the last surviving founder member of the Guinea Pig Club. The club was formed by World War II airmen who had undergone reconstructive surgery after suffering severe burns. The members called themselves 'guinea pigs' as the surgery performed on them was at such an experimental stage. Their president in this ground-breaking work was the plastic surgeon Sir Archibald McIndoe.
Derek Martin was born in 1920 and as soon as age permitted entered service with the Royal Air Force. As a newly- commissioned Pilot Officer in early 1939 he received his first glimpse of the new RAF aircraft the Short ‘Sunderland’ on his arrival at Calshot. One of the first examples of this new type of aircraft was situated ashore on its beaching gear, alongside ‘Scapa’ and ‘Singapore’ biplanes of the resident Flying Boat Training Squadron.
Many trials and projects were subsequently carried out with the Sunderland at various locations including MAEE (the Marine Aircraft Experimental Establishment) which for security reasons had been moved to Helensburgh.
Commencing operational duties flying Sunderlands, Derek Martin entered all the hazards associated with the Battle of the Atlantic mentioned above. He stated during interviews that out over the north Atlantic particularly close to Iceland, there may not have been any intensive enemy aircraft activity, but the major task there was to remain sufficiently alert to the presence of enemy submarines looking for convoys and seeking to sink Allied shipping. With all crew members looking out from every position, it was similar to looking for an object the size of a broomstick sticking out of waves sometimes reaching thirty feet high. The “broomstick” on this occasion being a u-boat snorkel allowing the submarine to remain just beneath the waves. Hundreds of square miles had to be covered during 12-14 hour flights, and of course at that time radar was not available for search purposes.
Further south around the Bay of Biscay, conditions altered to take into account the presence of enemy aircraft emerging from German bases in France. This awareness demanded even higher concentration levels to not only deal with sighting enemy submarines below but coping with attacks from enemy aircraft above.
On the night of 14th March 1941 Derek Martin and his crew had been out all night flying an operation over the Atlantic. On their return, they were relieved to be back at base and hoping to receive some welcome rest. However, that was not to be, for as the crew scheduled to be on call, they were asked to undertake an operation that afternoon, their task being to search for an enemy submarine causing concern in the vicinity of Greenland.
Returning from the Greenland operation the weather had closed in with fog making landing conditions extremely difficult. Derek Martin found himself in the water with no recollection of how he managed to be there. One theory being that the aircraft had stalled. Managing to reach the surface and keep his head above water, Derek was picked up by one of the launches. On reaching hospital in Oban, Derek was placed on one side as the medical team concentrated their attention on those they considered had a better chance of survival. Eventually giving Derek their full attention, it was considered later that the surgeons had completed a wonderful job as initially he had not been expected to survive. Derek Martin had survived but with horrific injuries. His scalp had been torn off, leaving his eye and socket completely exposed. It is therefore to the great credit of Sir Archibald McIndoe's skill and pioneering surgery that he was able to recover and even return to work as a pilot after the crash.
Derek Martin was also a pioneer in the splendid work undertaken by Sir Archibald McIndoe, for the wounded from Bomber Command were not sent to East Grinstead until 1942 and 1943. By the end of the war, 649 patients had been treated, including Canadians, Australians and airmen from New Zealand.
Derek Martin recalls that some chaps were sitting around one day, and decided to form a club. They came to the conclusion that wounded aircrew were being experimented on, so were obviously guinea pigs. It turned out that the secretary was a pilot with no hands, so he couldn't write any letters and the treasurer couldn't run off with the money because he had no legs. To be eligible for membership of the Guinea Pig Club one had to have served in the RAF during WW2 and suffered “disfiguring injuries from being boiled, mashed or fried by enemy fire.”
Members of the club decided to meet for a weekend reunion every year in East Grinstead. The club ensured that Guinea Pigs and their widows were taken care of, and if medical advice was needed, the services of the club's honorary plastic surgeon could be sought. There are 45 members left in England and all together 70 left in the world. Derek Martin has travelled to Canada to meet Guinea Pigs there as well. The club will eventually disband when the number of members falls below 50. Derek is the last founder member of about twelve when the club was organised in 1941.
When recovering sufficiently from his serious injuries due to the air crash, Wing Commander Martin returned to flying duties and in 1942 travelled by train to Windermere to collect the first plane built at White Cross Bay, DP176, and fly it back to base at Pembroke Dock. He also flew with three RAF flying boat squadrons and commanded a Sunderland Ferry Unit at Pembroke Dock at the height of the Battle of the Atlantic campaign.
Back in September 1940 Derek Martin, then just 20 years-old, had flown Sunderland T9044 on its delivery flight from Pembroke Dock to Oban on Scotland’s west coast. On its return, T9044 sank in 65 feet of water near Pembroke Dock during a storm in November 1940. This Sunderland is the sole surviving Mk 1 version and the Sunderland Trust aims to raise this aircraft, it is in good condition having been preserved in mud and sediment.
Wing Commander Derek Martin is Patron of the Pembroke Dock Sunderland Trust. He raised the flag by way of officially opening the Flying Boat Visitor Centre, Pembroke Dock in 2009.
Oban and the Second World War
The small west Highland port of Oban played a crucial part in the second world war by providing the base from which the Atlantic convoys could be escorted. As Churchill says in his History of the Second World War "The Battle of the Atlantic was the dominating factor all through the war. Never for one moment could we forget that everything happening elsewhere, on land at sea, or in the air, depended ultimately on its outcome, and amid all other cares we viewed its changing fortunes day by day with hope or apprehension".
The Battle of the Atlantic was the longest and toughest battle of the whole war. Over 2,500 allied merchant ships were sunk. 30,000 merchant seamen lost their lives and the RAF and RN suffered huge losses of men, aircraft and ships. For approximately the first half of the war (1939 - 1942) the only British aircraft capable of reaching far into the Atlantic to provide air escort for the convoys was the giant Sunderland flying boat. A variant of the pre-war 'Empire' flying boat developed to maintain contact with the empire, the Sunderland made escort of the early convoys possible before long-range landplanes could be purchased from the Americans.
In July 1940 No. 210 Sunderland Squadron was operating from Oban during the darkest days of the war in the Atlantic. Sorties of around 12 hours were completed in some appalling North Atlantic weather, often below cloud only a few hundred feet above the water. Flying in conditions which were primitive by modem standards, there was no radar, no radio, no satellite navigation and no prospect of any help if the aircraft failed. Day and night the aircraft and crews left the sheltered waters of Oban for the stormy seas of mid-Atlantic. Many did not return.
Under the protection of the Hebrides islands, many convoys assembled before making the return crossing to America. Others arrived at the end of their voyage bringing supplies and food so that we could continue fighting the Second World War. The idyllic scenes of the west Highlands and Islands were alive with aircraft and ships resting after their dangerous crossing or preparing to make the journey in the knowledge that they might never return.
Although the Royal Navy used the area, the Royal Air Force formed a stronger link with the residents of Oban because the aircrews usually returned to base after their long and trying sorties over the Atlantic. RAF Maritime aircraft, operating over the Atlantic from many bases, sank 213 enemy submarines, 24 in conjunction with surface forces. 10,875 RAF pilots and aircrew of Maritime aircraft were killed in the Battle.
Oban should be proud of its contribution to victory in the Second World War.