"Bill Kambic" wrote in message
...
On Tue, 16 Mar 2010 14:25:43 -0700 (PDT), Jim Wilkins
wrote:

On Mar 16, 5:05 pm, Jack Linthicum
wrote:
...
Getting the stuff off on a beach just might be the hardest part of the
trip.

If the U-boats were even twice as effective as on D-Day the RN would
have made glorious, bloody history.

jsw

People forget that the RN had subs in 1940, too. If the Kriegsmarine
had tried an invasion they would have been as subject to attack as the
Allies were in '44 and without any significant anti-submarine
capability.


The Germans were outnumbered by better than 5 to 1 in naval terms.
There were 17 destroyers just tasked with securing the approaches
to the channel from U-boat attack.

The cruisers from Harwich would reach the invasion site in a few hours
followed by the battle fleet from Scapa. To oppose at least 5 Battleships
20 or so cruisers and 50 destroyers the Germans could muster only
1 capital ship 2 or 3 cruisers and a handful of destroyers.

The German invasion barges were mostly towed and had a speed of less
than 4 knots , it was estimated that they would take as long as 30 hours
to make the crossing. The Heer relied on horse drawn artillery so planned
on using 4000 horses in the first wave. These would be carried on towed
rafts.

In the one and only trial most of these rafts overturned. It was estimated
that 10-20% of the invasion barges would be lost at sea even if
the RN didn't intervene.

While the RN dealt with the Kriegsmarine there were hundreds of light
vessels ranging from armed trawlers to MTB's which could have massacred
the invasion fleet. An old fishing boat with a 12 pounder and a bofors
gun is no joke if its firing at you and you are sea sick soldier on a canal
barge.

Any German sea borne operation was at best a chimera. Or more likely
a way to fox Statlin into thinking, "all is well."


It was a bluff as well, with luck the British might give in.

Keith