Volume 150, The Cunningham Papers: Vol. II The Triumph Of Allied Sea Power 1942-1946
ed. M. Simpson (2006)

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This volume continues where the previous one ended with Admiral Sir Andrew Cunningham in command of the Mediterranean Fleet. Following America’s entry into the war, there was a necessity for the Royal Navy to strengthen co-operation with the United States Navy. To achieve this, the First Sea Lord, Admiral of the Fleet Sir Dudley Pound, turned to Cunningham, believing his great prestige and experience of combat conditions in a ferocious war zone would carry great weight with the Americans. Cunnigham’s brief term as head of the British Admiralty Delegation in Washington was to endear him to the Americans, so much so that they proposed him as Allied Naval Commander of the Expeditionary Force which was to invade North Africa in November 1942. The ‘Torch’ expedition was the start of almost two years of landings in the Mediterranean, embracing ‘Husky’ (the invasion of Sicily) in July 1943 and the ‘Baytown’ and ‘Avalanche’ landings in Italy in September 1943. His role as ANCXF was abruptly terminated in October 1943, when he was summoned to replace the dying Pound as First Sea Lord.

Cunningham was First Sea Lord from October 1943 to his retirement from active service in June 1946. In that time he presided over the invasion of Normandy (‘Neptune/Overlord’), operations in the Mediterranean, the sinking of the Scharnhorst and Tirpitz, the defeat of a late surge of U-boat activity, the British Pacific Fleet, and the problems of manpower, the future of the Royal Marines and the Fleet Air Arm, and the conversion of the Royal Navy from its swollen wartime strength to a much-reduced peacetime cadre.

This volume has been based on Lord Cunningham’s papers, deposited mainly in the British Library, the National Maritime Museum, the Churchill Archives Centre and the Imperial War Museum. Other papers written by him have been found in the collections of Admirals Blake, Cowan, Kelly, Manley Power, Somerville, Whitworth and Willis and other officers. Extensive use has been made also of the Admiralty, Cabinet and Prime Minister’s records in The National Archives. Contributions of material and memories have been made by those who served with him and by member of his family.

Contents

List of Maps and Illustrations
xii
Preface
xiii
Acknowledgements
xvii
Glossary of Abbreviations
xix
Chrolology of the Life and Career of Admiral of the Fleet Viscount Cunningham of Hyndhope
xxv
A Brief Bibliography
xxvii
Part I: The British Admiralty Delegation, Washington, D.C. March to September 1942
1
PART II: Return to the Mediterranean
17
A: 'Torch': The Landings in North Africa, July 1942-May 1943
19
B: 'Husky': The Landings In Sicily, March 1943-April 1944
103
C: 'Baytown' and 'Avalanche': The Landings in Italy, August 1943-January 1945
123
PART III: First Sea Lord
139
A: Appointment, September 1943-March 1944
141
B: Churchill, the Chiefs of Staff and the Combined Chiefs of Staff, October 1943-May 1946
155
C: Command and Manpower, October 1943-January 1946
175
D: Neptune and After, December 1943-March 1945
193
E: The German Navy: U-boats and Surface Warships, January 1944-August 1945
223
F: The Mediterranean, March 1943-February 1946
269
G: The British Pacific Fleet and the East Indies Fleet, November 1943-March 1946
299
H: The Post-War Navy, May 1943-May 1946
373
I: Sunset Retreat: Retirement and Succession, May 1945-June 1946
399
List of Documents and Sources
409
Index
423

Further Reading

M.A. Simpson, 'Admiral Viscount Cunnigham of Hyndhope (1943-1946)', in M.H. Murfett (ed.), The First Sea Lords: From Fisher to Mountbatten (London, 1995)
-----(ed.) The Cunningham Papers Volume I
-----, A Life of Admiral of the Fleet Viscount Cunnigham of Hyndhope (London, 2004)

Admiral of the Fleet Viscount Cunnigham of Hyndhope, A Sailor's Odyssey (London, 1951)
R.L. Ollard, Fisher and Cunnigham: A Study of the Personalities of the Churchill Era (London, 1968)
S.W.C. Pack, Cunningham the Commander (London, 1974)
S.W. Roskill, Churchill and the Admirals (London, 1977)
O. Warner, Cunnigham of Hyndhope: Admiral of the Fleet (London, 1967)
J. Winton, Cunnigham: The Greatest Admiral Since Nelson (London, 1998)

Extracts

235. Diary – 6 June 1944

Up early and down to the War Room to follow the landings. We certainly seem to have achieved tactical surprise. Some casualties to destroyers and sweepers but surprisingly few as yet.
British landings a great success. Enemy battery fire not heavy and apparently kept under by ships’ gunfire. RAF attacks on batteries must have been successful. Usual COS meeting – no important work.
Everything appeared to be going well in the afternoon but some anxiety about the American ‘Omaha’ beach where they appear to be badly hung up.
The submarines in the Bay ports to the number of 19 have been ordered to sail five or six into the Channel.
C-in-C, Plymouth, appears to be afflicted with infirmity of purpose. The three ‘Narviks’ are bound for Brest and he had issued orders for them to be intercepted by a destroyer force. When the submarines were sailed through the same area roughly – to give the air a free hand he cancelled the operation. A most mistaken sense of values for which we may pay dearly. I will give him snuff in the morning though it’s little to do with me. …