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1. The British Merchant Navy of World War II, previously known as the "Merchant Service" or "Mercantile Marine" comprised the merchant shipping registered in Great Britain and independently operated by British commercial shipping companies. Those vessels carried cargo to and from the country and those of the Commonwealth to sustain its war effort.
The Royal Navy was an important component of the Allied forces during the Second World War and made a significant contribution to the victory over the Axis powers.Its main tasks included the protection of merchant ships in the Atlantic against German U-boats and the defence of British territories.
The British Merchant Navy comprises the British merchant ships that transport cargo and people during times of peace and war. For much of its history, the merchant navy was the largest merchant fleet in the world, but with the decline of the British Empire in the mid-20th century it slipped down the rankings.
The United Kingdom alone suffered the loss of 11.7 million tons, which was 54% of the total Merchant Navy fleet at the outbreak of the Second World War. 32,000 merchant seafarers were killed aboard convoy vessels in the war, but along with the Royal Navy, the convoys successfully imported enough supplies to allow an Allied victory.
HMS Suffolk (55) was one of the Kent subclass of the County-class heavy cruisers Heavy cruisers were defined by international agreement pre-war for the purposes of arms limitation as those with guns greater than 6-inch (152 mm); ships of guns of 6-inch or less were light cruisers.
An Empire ship is a merchant ship that was given a name beginning with "Empire" in the service of the Government of the United Kingdom during and after World War II.Most were used by the Ministry of War Transport (MoWT), which owned them and contracted their operation to various shipping companies of the British Merchant Navy.
Pages in category "World War II merchant ships of the United Kingdom" The following 200 pages are in this category, out of approximately 223 total. This list may not reflect recent changes. (previous page) *
A merchant seaman (in knit cap) is ready to pass a shell to the Royal Navy gunners. Defensively equipped merchant ship (DEMS) was an Admiralty Trade Division programme established in June 1939, to arm 5,500 British merchant ships with an adequate defence against enemy submarines and aircraft.