Are there Q-ships here?!

[Ula Jolly]

Not really Q-ships, but are there armed merchants I have to look out for? :hmm:

[DerKaleun]

Yes later in the war, i guess somewhere in 1942 C2, C3, and some other Merchants get nasty deck guns. So take care. Troop Transports are well armed, they can give you some trouble if you´re not careful.

[Ula Jolly]

Damnit! The area just south of Ireland - west of Brest is bountiful in unprotected merchants! :dead:

[ShipperS7]

I can't believe it took them almost 2 years to think of putting guns on the merchants.

[Akula_971]

Well at first the cruiser rules where observed. So that neutrals would not get sunk by accident. A uboat was obliged to stop and check the papers of a boat before sinking it. At the start of the war, the numbers of Uboats and their sucesses where still small, the losses incurred, managable. But by late 40, early 41 losses began to mount.

Please remember at that time the British Merchant marine was the largest in the world, thousands of ships, from 1000 ton tramp steamers, to ocean liners. It is often difficult to conjure up thousands of guns and train thousands of people to use them, all in a short time, whilst you are in full retreat from europe, and facing possible invasion. Previous governments had stripped the armed forces of resources for years. A Labour govenment even considered scrapping the RAF in the early 30's.

Churchill wanted the merchants armed, so that the uboats would be forced into attacking ships without warning. He knew that there was a good chance of neutrals being sunk, which would outrage them and hopefully assist Britain's cause.

Hindsight is nearly always 20/20