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Defensively Outfitted Merchant Ship (DEMS) was an Admiralty Trade Division program set up in June, 1939, to arm five,500 British merchant ships with the ample defence towards enemy submarines and aircraft. The acronym DEMS was employed to explain the ships carrying the guns, the guns aboard the ships, the military personnel manning the guns, along with the shore establishment supporting the technique.[1]
one Background
two Globe War I
3 Planet War II three.1 D-day landings and also the Royal Observer Corps four U.s.
five See also
six Notes
7 References
eight Even more looking at [edit] History
In the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, European countries including Spain, France,Tiffany Sterling Silver, Canada Holland and Britain armed their merchant ships to stop seize by pirates, enemy commerce raiders and privateers once they carried out overseas trade. The most greatly armed ended up ships carrying useful cargo again in the Far East. For instance, the East Indiamen class of ships had been constructed in the floor up with defence in thoughts, with their large armament producing them equivalent to naval ships from the line. The moment the risk passed after the finish of the Napoleonic Wars in 1815, armed merchant ships like East Indiamen were replaced with more quickly and lighter unarmed ships for example clippers.
[edit] Globe War I
During the very first World War, Britain armed its merchant ships to assist defend them in opposition to U-boats. Just one stern gun,Tiffany Online, equivalent to what a submarine may have, was mounted; and civilian captains ended up encouraged to flee and shoot again from their a lot more steady gun platform. 766 civilian ships had been armed by December, 1915.[2] Arming of merchant ships gave Germany an excuse for shifting towards unrestricted submarine warfare.[3]
The very first merchant ship misplaced to U-boats was an 866-ton British steamer outbound from Grangemouth to Stavanger having a cargo of coal, iron plate, and oil. SS Glitra was stopped by U-17 on 20 October 1914; and a boarding party gave Glitra's crew time to disembark into lifeboats before sinking the ship by opening valves to flood holds with seawater. The procedure followed customs originated by surface ships. International maritime law required the naval vessel to make ample provisions for the safety with the merchant crew and passengers before sinking their ship.[4]
Imperial Germany focused use of U-boats towards merchant shipping in response to British blockade of German merchant shipping by declaring the entire North Sea a war zone on two November 1914. On five February 1915 Germany published notice declaring a war zone in all waters around Great Britain and Ireland. Within that zone, Germany conducted unrestricted submarine warfare versus merchant ships from 18 February 1915 without warning and without regard to safety of their crew.[5]
U-boats still conformed to earlier conventions of stopping ships when possible, but the typical submarine mounted only a single gun. The two procedures for sinking merchant ships have been compared in 1915. Merchant ships escaped 42% of torpedo attacks made without warning,Tiffany Sydney title, in comparison to 54% escaping from conventional surface attempts to stop the ship.[6] Guns aided escape and approximately one submarine per month was sunk (most by Q-ships) while attempting a surfaced stop.[6]
The number of civilian merchant ships armed with anti-submarine guns rose to 1,749 by September 1916 and 2,899 by February 1917.[7] The United states of america responded to unrestricted submarine warfare by severing diplomatic relations with Germany on three February 1917. A filibuster within the Usa Senate temporarily delayed President Woodrow Wilson's proposal on 26 February 1917 to arm United states merchant ships, but arming started in March under an executive order.[8]
[edit] Earth War II
Old naval guns had been stored since 1918 in major seaports for possible use for the duration of future hostilities. Throughout the Second World War, the objective was to equip each ship using a low-angle gun mounted aft as defence towards surfaced submarines and a high-angle gun and rifle-calibre machine guns for defence versus air attack.[9] three,400 ships had been armed by the stop of 1940;[3] and all ships ended up armed by 1943.[10]
The low-angle guns were typically inside the 3-inch to 6-inch range (75–150 mm) depending on the size with the ship. Rifle-caliber machine guns have been augmented or replaced by 20 mm Oerlikon as they became available. The High-Angle QF 12pdr Mk V mount was probably the most common anti-aircraft gun, and later ships sometimes received 40 mm Bofors guns.[9]
Untrained gunners posed significant risk to friendly aircraft in the absence of efficient communications.[3] DEMS guns have been manned by 24,000 Royal Navy personnel and 14,000 men in the Royal Artillery Maritime Regiment. 150,000 merchant sailors have been trained to assist by passing ammunition, loading, and replacing casualties among the military gun crew.[11] Initially, Royal Artillery personnel provided anti-aircraft protection by bringing their own machine-guns aboard ships operating close to the British Isles.[3] DEMS gunners were often retired military personnel and young "Hostilities Only" ratings commanded by a petty officer or Royal Marine sergeant. Large ships sometimes embarked a junior naval officer to command the DEMS gunners.[12]
Canada placed guns on 713 ships.[13]
[edit] D-day landings as well as the Royal Observer Corps
In 1944, in the course of preparations for the invasion of France called Operation Overlord there was deep concern over the danger to Allied aircraft from your large number of DEMS involved inside the landings. A request for volunteer aircraft recognition experts from the Royal Observer Corps produced one,Tiffany Ring,094 highly qualified candidates, from which 796 had been selected to perform precious aircraft recognition duties as seaborne volunteers.[14]
These Seaborne Observers ended up organised by Group Commandant C.G.Cooke and trained at the Royal Bath Hotel Bournemouth before the volunteers temporarily joined the Royal Navy with the rank of Petty Officer (Aircraft Identifier). The volunteers continued to wear their ROC uniforms, but wore SEABORNE shoulder flashes and a Royal Navy brassard with the letters RN. In the course of the D-day landings two Seaborne observers had been allocated to each of the Defensively Outfitted Merchant Ships, both British and American vessels. The ROC volunteers were given direct control of each ship's anti aircraft batteries, immediately reducing the previously high level of friendly fire, or collateral damage incidents as they are now known. Their success is measured by a signal from Wing Commander P.B. Lucas, Air Staff Officer who reported:
"The general impression amongst the Spitfire wings, covering our land and naval forces over and off the beach-head, appears to be that inside the majority of cases the fire has come from warships and not in the merchant ships. Indeed I personally have yet to hear just one pilot report that a merchant vessel had opened fire on him"
Twenty two Seaborne observers survived their ships being sunk, two lost their lives and several a lot more have been injured for the duration of the landings. The Seaborne operation was an unqualified success and in recognition, His Majesty King George Vl approved the wearing with the SEABORNE flash as a permanent feature of the uniform. In addition, ten Seaborne members ended up mentioned in despatches. After the invasion and just before his death Air Chief Marshal Trafford Leigh-Mallory wrote the following to be circulated to all ROC personnel:
"I have read reports from both pilots and naval officers regarding the Seaborne volunteers on board merchant vessels in the course of recent operations. All reports agree that the Seaborne volunteers have a lot more than fulfilled their duties and have undoubtedly saved many of our aircraft from being engaged by our ships guns. I should be grateful if you would please convey to all ranks in the Royal Observer Corps, and in particular to the Seaborne observers themselves, how grateful I, and all pilots inside the Allied Expeditionary Air Force, are for their assistance, which has contributed in no small measure to the safety of our own aircraft, and also to the efficient protection of the ships at sea. The work of the Royal Observer Corps is quite often unjustly overlooked, and receives little recognition, and I therefore wish that the service they rendered on this occasion be as widely advertised as possible, and all units of the Air Defence of Great Britain are therefore to be informed from the success of this latest venture from the Royal Observer Corps."
As of 2010 there is a Seaborne Observers’ Association for the dwindling number of survivors. Ex-Air Vice-Marshal George Black,Tiffany Engagement, a former Commandant ROC, is the honorary president.
[edit] U.s.
The Merchant Marine Act of 1936 identified mariners aboard Usa flagged merchant ships as military personnel in time of war. Neutrality Acts prevented arming of U.s. flagged merchant ships until 17 November 1941, although American-owned ships under Panamanian registry had been armed earlier.[15] Guns had been manned by United states Navy Armed Guard. United states of america began equipping ships of other nations with guns and Usa Navy Armed Guard on 24 January 1942.[16] U.s. policy was stated by the Vice Chief of Naval Operations on 19 August 1942: "Ships sailing independently should be armed. Ships sailing in regularly made-up convoys, other than ships bound to North Russia or tankers en route to the United Kingdom, may sail unarmed if the urgency of delivery of their cargo warrants it."[11]
The United states of america followed the British practice of just one large gun aft. Early Usa installations included low-angle 4"/50 calibre guns (Mark 9) removed from old Wickes and Clemson class destroyers.[17] The first installations of dual-purpose 5"/38 calibre guns began in September, 1942, on new ships over 10,Tiffany Deutschland,000 tons.[11] Victory ships carried a 3-inch gun on the bow,Tiffany Blue, 20 mm machine gun tubs port and starboard between the primary and second holds; a second pair of 20 mm guns on the bridge wings, a third pair on the following edge from the superstructure, and a fourth pair between the soon after (Number 5) hatch and the 5"/38 calibre gun on the stern.[18]
[edit] See also Armed merchantmen
Commerce raiding
East Indiaman
Merchant raider [edit] Notes [edit] References Babcock and Wilcox (April 1944). Victory Ships. Marine Engineering and Shipping Review. 
Campbell, John (1985). Naval Weapons of World War Two. Naval Institute Press. ISBN 0-87021-459-4. 
Hague, Arnold (2000). The Allied Convoy System 1939-1945. Naval Institute Press. ISBN 1-55750-019-3. 
Hughes,Tiffany Earring, Terry and Costello, John (1977). The Battle from the Atlantic. The Dial Press. ISBN 0-8037-6454-2. 
Middlebrook, Martin (1976). Convoy. William Morrow and Company. ISBN . 
Morison, Samuel Eliot (1975). History of Usa Naval Operations in Earth War II, Volume I The Battle with the Atlantic 1939-1943. Little, Brown and Company. 
Potter, E.B. and Nimitz,Tiffany Key Chain, Chester W. (1960). Sea Power. Prentice-Hall. 
Rohwer, J. and Hummelchen, G. (1992). Chronology from the War at Sea 1939-1945. Naval Institute Press. ISBN 1-55750-105-X. 
Tarrant, V.E. (1989). The U-Boat Offensive 1914-1945. Sterling Publishing. ISBN 1-85409-520-X. 
van der Vat, Dan (1988). The Atlantic Campaign. Harper & Row. ISBN 0-06-015967-7. 
Slader, John (2009). Fourth Service: Merchantmen at War, 1939-45. Brick Tower Books. ISBN 978-1899694457.  [edit] Additional studying Marcus, Alex (1986). "DEMS? What's DEMS?": The story with the men in the Royal Australian Navy who manned defensively equipped merchant ships during Earth War II. Bowen Hills, Qld.: Boolarong Publications. pp. 209 pages. ISBN .