Why Submarine Warfare Played Major Role in World War II Victory

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By David Vergun,U.S. Department of Defense

Submarine warfare has been around a while. Primitive subs were used with mixed results from the Revolutionary War up until World War I, when advances were made in propulsion and torpedoes.

However, it was the Germans who most effectively used their submarines, called U-boats, against allied shipping during World War I. The allies took note and began to modernize their submarines. By the time the United States became involved in World War II, the advances were pivotal to the success of the country’s sea power.

“Compared with their World War I counterparts, submarines [in World War II] now exhibited greater speed, more effective weaponry, sophisticated detection technology and great versatility, and could pursue their victims rather than just lying in wait,” wrote historian Gary E. Weir in a U.S. Naval Historical Center publication “Silent Victory 1940-1945.”

Submarine warfare took place in both the Pacific and European theaters of war. However, U.S. Navy submarines saw their greatest success against Japanese merchant vessels and warships. Submarines also played humanitarian and special operations roles in the campaign against Japan. In many of the hardest-fought battles of the war, submarine crews rescued downed carrier pilots, including future President George H.W. Bush. 

Fleet submarines also delivered troops tasked with special missions. In August 1942, USS Nautilus and USS Argonaut delivered Marine Corps Col. Evans F. Carlson’s “Raiders” to Makin Island in the Gilbert chain as a diversion during the Guadalcanal campaign. Subsequently, the two submarines returned to pick up the Marines after they completed their missions to reconnoiter the island and destroy important enemy facilities.