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Jaggedmallard26 t1_iwhokxm wrote

Reply to comment by p38-lightning in TIL that the civilian sailors of the U.S. Merchant Marine had a higher casualty rate during World War II than any branch of the armed forces. by p38-lightning

By the end of the war the allies had figured out how to deal with submarine technology of the era. Escorted Convoys made attacks dangerous and near constant aerial patrol by heavy bombers meant that as a submarine surfaced to recharge its battery and replenish its air it'd be reported and hunted.

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raidriar889 t1_iwhwpco wrote

Another overlooked measure that significantly reduced the threat of U-boats was improvements to radar that allowed ships to detect the conning towers of submarines from beyond the horizon and even their periscopes.

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SteveThePurpleCat t1_iwikurt wrote

By mid-war the British had air based radar that could detect a periscope or snorkel in the water, by the end it was just damn unsporting.

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