‘We Have the Equipment But You Have the Know-How’: Anglo-American Antisubmarine Training, 1946–1953

Abstract

Despite possessing overwhelming naval power at the end of World War II, British and American admirals worried about a potential war with the Soviet Union. In such a conflict, Soviet submarines, buttressed by advanced German submarine technology, could threaten the critical North Atlantic convoy routes. These shared concerns led the US Navy to pursue close relations with Britain’s antisubmarine community, especially the Joint AntiSubmarine School (JASS) in Northern Ireland. This School offered advanced training in antisubmarine warfare (ASW) using techniques honed by the Royal Navy and Royal Air Force during World War II. The US Navy created links with the school by sending American ships and aircraft there for training due to the Navy’s belief that it could benefit from British expertise in ASW. In contrast to the US Navy’s preparations for war with Japan in the 1920s and 1930s, American preparations for a third Battle of the Atlantic have received far less attention. Soviet submarines were seen in the early Cold War as the primary Soviet naval threat. The story of the US Navy’s growing relationship with JASS illustrates how concerns about Soviet submarines led to close Anglo-American naval cooperation.