The Battle for Caribbean Oil: An Underwater Blitzkrieg in the Tropics
"The German submarine attacks were the worst
angry. If the Germans were wiser, they would have bet everything on them."
W. Churchill, "The Second World War"
angry. If the Germans were wiser, they would have bet everything on them."
W. Churchill, "The Second World War"
The Battle of the Caribbean lasted nine and a half months—from February 16 to November 30, 1942. German and Italian submarine forces launched a large-scale operation to disrupt enemy logistics and block their communications. They sank ships in the Caribbean Sea and the Gulf of Mexico and attacked coastal targets in the Antilles. During this relatively short period, Axis submarines sank 263 ships with a total tonnage of 1,362,278 GRT.
This region became the deadliest stretch of ocean for shipping. More ships were sunk in the Caribbean during this period than were lost along the North Atlantic, US East Coast, and Canadian coastal convoy routes combined.
This region was strategically important due to the Venezuelan oil fields to the southeast and the Panama Canal to the southwest. By the start of the war, Venezuela had become the third-largest oil producer in the world. Its fields in the Lake Maracaibo basin supplied approximately 60% of all oil imported by the Allies.
Barges and oil rigs on Lake Maracaibo
In 1942, the Caribbean Basin was home to strategic oil refining giants:
- In Curacao (Netherlands) is the largest Royal Dutch Shell refinery in the world, refining 11 million barrels per month.
- In Trinidad (UK) there is a major oil refinery in the British Empire (Trinidad Leaseholds).
- In Aruba (Netherlands) there are two refineries of the Lago Oil and Transport Company, owned by Standard Oil of New Jersey and Eagle Petroleum Company, a subsidiary of Royal Dutch Shell.
Britain's key petroleum requirement in the early years of World War II was approximately 150,000 barrels per day, just to meet the minimum needs of industry, fleet и aviationMost of it came from Venezuela via Curaçao, while Italy blocked passage through the Mediterranean from the Middle East. A successful attack on any one of these factories could have triggered a chain reaction of supply problems. This is why the German command devoted so much attention to the Caribbean theater of operations. Operations against these factories and the tankers servicing them were an attempt to sever the "lifeblood" of the Allied war effort with a single, pinpoint strike at a vulnerable point.
Britain depended on the Caribbean region for more than just oil. The southern Caribbean coast, as well as Central and South America, were a treasure trove of strategic materials such as tungsten, manganese, chromium, copper, bauxite, tin, industrial diamonds, mica, platinum, nickel, and quartz. All of these minerals were essential for the production of modern weapons, machines and vehicles that could produce and transport them.
One of the most important minerals from which aluminum is produced is bauxite. It was absolutely essential for the American and British aviation industries. British Guiana and Dutch Guiana (Suriname) jointly mined 1,5 million tons of this strategic mineral annually, much of which was effectively monopolized by the Aluminum Company of America (ALCOA) and the Aluminum Company of Canada (ALCAN). These two colonies accounted for nearly 40% of global production.
The rapid growth of military aircraft production in Britain after September 1939 and a further increase in the spring of 1940, coupled with US plans to significantly expand the size of the Royal Air Force, forced the Allies to increase bauxite production in South America. Britain's entire requirement of 302,000 tons was met by supplies from British Guiana. Aircraft production was entirely dependent on these supplies, making their route a prime target for German U-boats in the Caribbean. The transportation of aluminum ore was extremely vulnerable. The main route from Guiana to the United States ran along the Lesser Antilles chain; this same corridor was used to transport oil and petroleum products from the major refineries in Aruba, Curaçao, and Trinidad, which supplied Britain with fuel.
The Panama Canal was a vital strategic and economic asset for the United States. Its opening in 1914 understandably brought enormous benefits to much of the world's shipping industry, but especially to the United States, which used it extensively for coast-to-coast shipping. During World War II, the Panama Canal was not just an important asset for the United States, but a strategic hub that ensured its global military superiority.
Trinidad's unique strategic location and infrastructure allowed it to become a key logistics hub for the Allies during World War II. Situated at the intersection of major shipping routes and boasting an oil refinery, Trinidad became an indispensable supply hub for fuel and raw materials (bauxite), achieving the status of one of the world's most important ports by 1943.
The Caribbean Defense Command, established on February 10, 1941, pioneered the application of the principle of unified operational command in stories The United States, which controlled all branches of the military in the region: the Army, Navy, and Air Force, was headquartered in Quarry Heights. The command's boundaries were defined as "the islands in or bordering the Caribbean Sea, Guiana, Venezuela, Colombia, Ecuador, and the countries of Central America (except Mexico)."
Three sectors were created: Trinidad, Puerto Rico, and Panama. The core of the new command consisted of personnel from the Panama Canal Department. The primary missions were: defending the Panama Canal, protecting shipping lanes in the Caribbean, conducting anti-submarine warfare, and protecting sources of strategic raw materials. The post of Defense Commander was combined with that of Chief of the Panama Canal Department. From September 17, 1941, Lieutenant General Frank Maxwell Andrews assumed command.
Frank Maxwell Andrews (February 3, 1884 – May 3, 1943) was an American lieutenant general and one of the founders of the United States Air Force. On February 5, 1943, at the Casablanca Conference, he was appointed commander of all U.S. armed forces in the European Theater of Operations, replacing Dwight D. Eisenhower. However, on May 3, 1943, the B-24 Andrews was flying on an inspection flight crashed in Iceland near Mount Fagradalsfjall.
By January 1943, the total garrison strength across the various sectors—the Panama Canal and adjacent fortifications, Puerto Rico, and other island bases (Trinidad, Antigua)—approached 68,000–70,000 personnel. The Caribbean Defense Command existed until November 15, 1947, after which it was reorganized as the US Caribbean Command. In 1963, it was renamed the United States Southern Command (USSOUTHCOM), with headquarters later moved to Miami, Florida.
Caribbean Defense Command World War II Badge
Recognizing the strategic importance of these routes, the German military leadership initiated Operation Neuland in February 1942. The operation's goal was to simultaneously disrupt British oil supplies and the US bauxite trade, thereby paralyzing key sectors of the enemy's war industry. Germany's attempt to simultaneously deprive the US of aluminum and Britain of oil was one of the most ambitious naval operations of World War II. It clearly demonstrates how vulnerable global supply chains were and how war at sea directly impacted production capabilities in the rear. Operational Order No. 51 "West India," approved by the BdU Staff on January 17, 1942, assigned specific objectives to all commanders of the leading group Neuland.
Before leaving Lorient, the submarines received new four-rotor Enigma machines, which made it difficult for the enemy to decipher radio messages. The situation was only rectified when, on October 30, 1942, the crew of the destroyer HMS Petard (G56), at the cost of two boarding party members, captured a modernized Enigma machine and its documentation from the submarine U-559. This allowed German communications to be deciphered until the very end of the war. A FuMO-29 Seetakt radar was also installed on U-156 for testing purposes.
The Petard was a British destroyer. She became famous for sinking three Axis submarines during the war: U-559 (Germany), Uarsciek (Italy), and I-27 (Japan).
The U-boat group U-502, U-67, U-129, and U-161, under the command of Kapitänleutnant Werner Hartenstein, IX-C (U-156), was tasked with carrying out a simultaneous attack on Caribbean oil refineries and the ships supplying them with crude oil as part of Operation Neuland. Five Italian submarines also departed from Bordeaux to patrol the Atlantic side of the Lesser Antilles, but they were not directly subordinate to Hartenstein. U-126 was assigned to patrol the Windward Passage between Cuba and Haiti.
Werner Hartenstein, a corvette captain and German U-boat captain during World War II, was awarded the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross. From January 1942 to January 1943, he carried out five combat missions (including one to Aruba). His targets included approximately 20 ships with a total tonnage of approximately 114,000 GRT. On September 2, 1942, off the coast of West Africa, he attacked the British transport Laconia. {Order "Laconia" of September 17, 1942}
On March 8, 1943, east of Barbados, U-156 with all crew was sunk by an American PBY-5A Catalina flying boat.
The element of surprise was on the German raiders' side. The simultaneous detonations of torpedoes fired at tankers off three key islands—Aruba, Curaçao, and Trinidad—instantly shattered the illusion of security and marked the beginning of war in these previously calm waters.
The Lago oil refinery in Aruba was the main supplier of fuel for enemy aircraft and was therefore considered a strategically important target by the Germans. The U-156 submarine played a key role in the attack on targets near Aruba.
Late in the evening of February 15, 1942, U-156 approached the Lago oil refinery, and the commander selected targets - two lake tankers in the roadstead "Pedernales" and "Oranjestad".
Lake tankers were small (up to 5000 tons) shallow-draft, flat-bottomed vessels specially designed to enter Lake Maracaibo, Venezuela, from where crude oil was taken.
The extensive sandbar in the strait connecting Lake Maracaibo with the Caribbean Sea necessitated the use of special shallow-draft tankers, which could only cross the bar with partial loads, usually at dawn during high tide. The main reason President (later dictator) Juan Vicente Gómez (reigned 1908-1935) refused to authorize large-scale dredging was fear of foreign military invasion.
The Venezuelan blockade of 1902-1903, a European coalition (Great Britain, Germany, Italy) against Venezuela. Venezuela's debt defaults and refusal to compensate foreign citizens accumulated and were systematically neglected. The blockade and bombardment of Fort San Carlos, which protected the entrance to Lake Maracaibo, was carried out by the German ships SMS Panther and SMS Vineta on January 17-21, 1903. President Theodore Roosevelt applied diplomatic pressure and demonstrated military force by insisting on international arbitration, which forced the Europeans to retreat. After the signing of the Washington Protocol, the blockade was lifted. Venezuela agreed to allocate 30% of customs duties to debt repayment. The crisis strengthened the role of the United States as an arbitrator in Western Hemisphere affairs and gave rise to the "Roosevelt Corollary" – a radical reinterpretation of the Monroe Doctrine. From now on, “chronic insolvency” or “unrest” in any country in the region was seen as a threat that gave Washington the right to intervene militarily.
On the right is the armored cruiser Vineta, in the center is the light cruiser Falke, on the left is the gunboat Panther
The Pedernales became the first victim. Early in the morning of February 16, 1942, the surfaced U-156 fired a torpedo from its bow torpedo tube, striking the tanker amidships. The Pedernales, loaded with crude oil, immediately caught fire. Eight crew members died in the explosion and subsequent fire. Two minutes later, U-156 fired a second torpedo, which struck the Oranjestad. It also caught fire and sank approximately an hour later, killing 15 crew members. Using smoke as cover, the crew prepared for the next phase of the attack. Commander Werner Hartenstein ordered the 105mm SKC/32 deck gun to be prepared to shell the oil refinery, according to the approved plan. While preparing the gun, the crew forgot to remove the watertight plug from the gun barrel. The explosion killed one crew member, another was seriously injured, and the gun was damaged.
After firing several ineffective shots from the 37mm SKC/30 anti-aircraft gun, Hartenstein decided to change position and move on.
After a successful torpedo attack on the tankers Pedernales and Oranjestad, Commander Werner Hartenstein located and attacked another tanker, the Arkansas, moored at the Eagle pier. Since the Arkansas was unloaded, the hit caused only a small fire, and the vessel remained afloat. Two torpedoes missed their target during the attack on the tanker.
A G7e torpedo was found on the beach near Eagle Pier by a naval patrol after the attack on the morning of February 16.
On February 17, 1942, four servicemen were killed and three were wounded while defusing a German torpedo.
After firing a torpedo at the tanker Arkansas, U-156, following an air raid alarm, left the Aruba area and headed for Martinique. Martinique was then controlled by the Vichy government under the command of Admiral Georges Robert. With the approval of the German naval command, artillery Officer Dietrich von dem Born (wounded in a cannon explosion) was transferred to the French Navy at Fort-de-France on February 21, 1942. En route, 60 miles west of Martinique, the cargo ship Delplata was torpedoed and sunk on February 20. After transferring the wounded, U-156 left Martinique. On February 22, the crew repaired the deck gun (approximately 53 cm of the destroyed cannon barrel was sawed off), and the submarine continued combat patrol in the Caribbean. Before returning to Lorient on March 17, 1942, Hartenstein sank three more ships:
- On February 25, 1942, 70 miles south of Puerto Rico, the German submarine U-156 sank La Carriere. Of the tanker's 41 crew members, 15 were killed.
- On February 27, 1942, 15 miles northeast of Cabo Frances Viejo, Dominican Republic, the British steamship MacGregor was attacked. U-156 had run out of torpedoes at the time, so the attack was carried out using a damaged and hastily repaired 105mm deck gun.
92 shots of 10,5 cm, 112" 3,7 cm were expended. — from the submarine's logbook.
As a result, the steamship MacGregor caught fire and sank after being shelled. One crew member died.
- On February 28, 1942, the American tanker Oregon was attacked and sunk, killing 6 people.
58 10,5 cm rounds, 304 3,7 cm rounds and 101 2 cm rounds were fired. Approximately 25-30 10,5 cm hits and 200 3,7 cm hits were recorded. — from the submarine's logbook.
On February 16, 1942, U-502, under the command of Kapitänleutnant Jürgen von Rosenstiel, sank three tankers between Lake Maracaibo and Aruba.
- The British tanker Tia Juana sank 25 miles southwest of Punta Macolla, Venezuela, en route from Lake Maracaibo to Aruba. Seventeen of the 26 crew members died.
- The Venezuelan tanker Monagas was hit by two torpedoes and continued to burn for three days before sinking 4 nautical miles (7,4 km) north of Punta Espada, La Guajira, Colombia. Five crew members were killed in the attack, and 26 survivors were rescued.
- The British tanker San Nicolas sank 25 miles southwest of Punta Macola, Venezuela, en route from Lake Maracaibo to Aruba. The crew of 26 (7 dead, 19 survivors) was lost.
U-502 struck again on February 22 off Aruba, sinking the American tanker JN Pew during the night, and then sank the Panamanian tanker Thalia with torpedoes and gunfire in the morning.
Waist
That same day, she seriously damaged the 9002-ton American tanker Sun with a single torpedo. The submarine returned to Lorient on March 16 after 57 days at sea. During four patrols, U-502 sank 14 merchant ships totaling 78843 GRT, and damaged two ships totaling 23797 GRT.
On July 6, 1942, in the Bay of Biscay, the submarine U-502 was sunk by depth charges dropped by a Wellington bomber equipped with a Lee searchlight from No. 172 Squadron RAF. All 52 crew members were killed.
The first confirmed detection and destruction of a target using a Lee searchlight (L/L). This was a powerful 22-million-candlepower, 24-inch (610 mm) diameter aircraft searchlight, mounted on a number of British Royal Air Force Coastal Command patrol bombers to detect surfaced German U-boats at night.
While U-156 and U-502 carried out attacks off Aruba, U-67's commander, Günther Müller-Stöckheim, was assessing port facilities in Willemstad Harbor, Curaçao. Due to technical problems with its torpedoes, the German submarine managed to cause significant damage to only one vessel, the Dutch tanker Rafael. The alarm raised, and the submarine aborted the attack.
On February 21, 1942, U-67 sank the Norwegian tanker Kongsgaard, with a crew of 46, 37 of whom died and nine survived. On March 14, the Panamanian tanker Penelope was sunk, killing one crew member.
In total, during the military operations, Müller-Stöckheim sank 13 ships with a total displacement of 72138 GRT and damaged 5 ships with a displacement of 29726 GRT.
On July 16, 1943, the U-67 was sunk in the Sargasso Sea by aircraft from the American escort carrier Cor; of the 51 crew members, only three were saved.
While Hartenstein, Müller-Stöckheim and Rosenstiel concentrated mainly on the waters off the southern Lesser Antilles, U-161, under the command of Kapitänleutnant Albrecht Achilles, took on the difficult task of disrupting shipping in the Gulf of Paria (a gulf in the Caribbean Sea bounded by the coast of Venezuela, including the Paria Peninsula, and the island of Trinidad).
- Albrecht Adolf Konrad Achilles (1914-1943) was a German U-boat officer during World War II, recipient of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross, lieutenant commander, and corvette captain. As commander of the U-161, Achilles completed six combat missions. The submarine was credited with sinking 13 ships (63412 GRT) and one warship (1130 t), damaging five ships (35672 GRT), and damaging the British light cruiser HMS Phoebe. A total of 105664 GRT.
On September 27, 1943, near Bahia, in the Salvador region off the coast of Brazil, U-161 with all crew was sunk by a Mariner aircraft from VP-74 of the US Navy.
While still on the surface, he safely guided U-161 through the Boca Grande Strait at 3:00 a.m. on February 18, thanks in large part to well-lit navigation buoys and shore lights. After waiting out daylight hours at a depth of 60 meters, the submarine surfaced and entered Port of Spain harbor.
The American cargo ship Mokihana, while at anchor, was torpedoed and sunk by a submarine. There were no crew casualties. The second ship sunk that night was the tanker British Consul. It sank in shallow water and was later raised and repaired. On August 19, 1942, while en route from Trinidad via Curaçao to Key West, the tanker British Consul was sunk by the submarine U-564.
Before returning to Lorient on April 2, 1942, Adolphe Achilles also recorded the following:
- On February 21, 1942, the British tanker Circe Shell was sunk, killing one crew member.
- On February 23, the American ship "Lihue" was torpedoed and sank on February 26.
- On March 7, the South African tanker Uniwaleco was sailing unescorted from Curaçao to Trinidad to Freetown. It sank after being hit by two torpedoes, taking the lives of 18 crew members.
- On March 10, the Canadian steamship Lady Nelson was torpedoed in the port of Castries, St. Lucia. Fifteen passengers and three crew members died. The ship sank near the pier, but was raised in late March and towed to Mobile, Alabama, for repairs. After repairs, the Lady Nelson was converted into a hospital ship. After the war, it continued to serve as a passenger ship until 1968.
Lady Nelson
- Along with the Lady Nelson, the British freighter Umtata was sunk in the port of Castries but later repaired. On July 7, 1942, U-571 sank the Umtata northeast of Key West in the Florida Channel.
- On March 14, 1942, the Canadian steamship Sarniadoc was sunk by a German U-boat 200 miles (322 km) west of Guadeloupe. The ship sank in 30 seconds, taking with it its 21-man crew.
- On March 15, 1942, the auxiliary ship USCGC Acacia, which was operating as a lighthouse and navigational aid ship en route from Curaçao to Antigua, was sunk by submarine fire.
The fifth submarine of the first wave of Operation Neuland was U-129, under the command of Lieutenant Commander Asmus Nikolai Clausen.
Asmus Nikolai Clausen (June 2, 1911 – May 16, 1943) was a German submarine officer, corvette captain, and recipient of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross. During the war, Clausen sank 24 ships with a total tonnage of 74807 GRT.
On June 30, 1942, he assumed command of U-182 (Type IX-D). He used this submarine for a 189-day voyage to the Indian Ocean. While returning from the voyage, Clausen's submarine was sunk by the American destroyer USS Mackenzie, killing all crew members and Clausen himself.
U-129 intercepted ships loaded with bauxite southeast of Trinidad.
- On February 20, the Norwegian cargo ship Nordvangen, loaded with bauxite, sank, taking with it all 24 crew members.
- On February 23, the Canadian cargo ship George L. Torian, the American dry cargo ship West Zeda, and the Canadian ore carrier Lennox were attacked and sunk.
- On February 28, the Panamanian ore carrier "Bayou" was sunk.
- On March 3, Clausen destroys the American cargo ship "Mary".
- On March 7, the American cargo ship "Steel Age" was heading from Calcutta to New Orleans with manganese ore. Of the 34 crew members, only one survived—sailor Jose Muniz, who was picked up by a German U-boat and subsequently spent the rest of the war in a POW camp.
U-126 was patrolling the Windward Passage under the command of Ernst Bauer.
Ernst Bauer (1914–1988) was a German submariner, a Korvettenkapitän in the Kriegsmarine from 1 April 1945, and a Captain 1st Rank in the Bundesmarine. From 22 March 1941, he was commander of the U-126 (Type IX-C). Bauer's career as commander of U-126 included five combat patrols, lasting a total of 391 days. His main areas of operation were the central Atlantic, the coast of West Africa, and the waters of the Caribbean Sea. In total, Bauer sank 25 ships with a total displacement of 118,660 GRT and damaged four ships with a displacement of 31,304 GRT. In 1955, he joined the West German Navy, where he held staff positions. He retired in 1972 with the rank of Captain 1st Rank.
On July 3, 1943, northwest of Cape Ortegal, Spain, the submarine U-126 was sunk by depth charges dropped by a British Vickers Wellington bomber. The submarine's entire crew of 55 perished.
U-126's third patrol, under the command of Ernst Bauer, was exceptionally successful. It took place from February 2 to March 29, 1942. The patrol resulted in seven ships sunk (32955 GRT) and two damaged (15907 GRT).
Tanker "Esso Bolivar"
On March 8, 1942, the tanker Esso Bolivar was attacked by U-126. It was heavily damaged but did not sink. The ship was repaired and returned to service.
As a result of Operation Neuland, Italian submarines sank 16 tankers and cargo ships.
Group members:
- "Leonardo da Vinci" (Leonardo da Vinci), captain Luigi Longanesi-Cattani, 2 transports sunk.
- "Luigi Torelli" (Luigi Torelli), captain Antonio de Giacomo, 2 ships.
- "Enrico Tazzoli" (Enrico Tazzoli), captain Carlo Fescia Di Cossato, 1 tanker and 5 transports.
- The Giuseppe Finzi, under the command of Ugo Giudici, sank two tankers and one cargo ship.
- "Morosini" (Morosini), captain Athos Fraterna, a cargo ship and two tankers.
Leonardo da Vinci, a Marconi-class submarine, was the most successful non-German submarine of the war. 17 ships sunk (including one warship) with a total tonnage of 120243 GRT, and 4 ships damaged (28449 GRT).
On May 23, 1943, off the coast of Spain, the submarine was destroyed by British ships - the destroyer Active and the frigate Ness - as a result of an attack with depth charges.
Another boat with a unique history of service under the flags of three Axis powers is the Luigi Torelli. During her service under the Italian flag, the boat sank seven merchant ships with a total tonnage of 42968 GRT. While stationed in Singapore, she was commissioned into the Kriegsmarine as UIT-25 when Italy surrendered in September 1943. In the spring of 1945, with the collapse of Germany, the boat fell to the Japanese (I-504). She was later captured by US forces in Kobe and scuttled in the Kii Channel on April 16, 1946.
German U-boats, operating during Operation Neuland and subsequent campaigns, targeted shipping in the Caribbean to disrupt Allied supplies of oil and raw materials. The sinking of Colombian ships was part of this strategy, but ultimately backfired, expanding the circle of countries fighting against Germany.
Colombia entered the war on the Allied side against the Axis powers on November 26, 1943, following a series of German submarine attacks on Colombian shipping, the most notorious of which was the sinking of the sailing ship Resolute off the coast of Panama.
The attack sparked violent protests in Barranquilla against the large German community there. Various German, Italian, Swiss, and Spanish shops were destroyed during the riots. Under pressure from the United States, which provided economic aid, and threats to withdraw it, the Colombian government interned hundreds of German, Japanese, and Italian immigrants.
Thus, Colombia's declaration of war in 1943 was a logical response to direct aggression. Colombia did not send troops abroad, but its navy actively engaged in anti-submarine operations in the Caribbean. While its contribution did not involve large-scale land battles, it proved crucial in securing sea lanes in the southern Caribbean and supplying the Allies with critical resources.
Two torpedo strikes by German U-boats in May 1942 radically changed Mexico's position in the world war, transforming a neutral country into an active participant in the anti-Hitler coalition. The attacks on the tankers Potrero del Llano and Faja de Oro became the immediate pretext for Mexico's entry into World War II on June 1, 1942.
Mexico became a supplier of strategic materials for American industry and organized naval patrols in the Gulf of Mexico and the Caribbean Sea. Its most famous military unit was the 201st Fighter Squadron, the "Aztec Eagles," which fought in the Pacific as part of the US Air Force.
The first wave of Operation Neuland wreaked havoc on Caribbean ports and shipping routes, leading to a severe fuel crisis. The resulting panic forced Allied governments to urgently seek solutions.
On March 12, Prime Minister Winston S. Churchill wrote to President Franklin D. Roosevelt's closest adviser, Harry Hopkins:
I am deeply concerned about the massive losses of tankers west of the 40th meridian and in the Caribbean Sea.... The situation is so serious that decisive action is required.
The initial 95% of supplies coming to the US East Coast from the Caribbean had fallen to 25% by the end of 1942 as a result of submarine attacks.
A reduction in oil supplies threatened Operation Torch in North Africa in November 1942. The resulting supply shortage became the catalyst for the construction of the Big Inch and Little Big Inch pipelines from the oil fields of East Texas to the Philadelphia and New York areas.
Welding a section of Big Inch pipe in 1942
Caribbean petroleum product supplies to Britain fell from 67 percent of total imports in 1941 to 23 percent by 1943.
The blockade of seaborne bauxite shipments from South America hit aluminum production hard, significantly slowing the production of military aircraft. Aircraft production in Britain was maintained only by a sharp increase in imported finished aluminum, almost exclusively from the United States.
Oil produced in Maracaibo was transported to Curaçao under the auspices of a shipping company (Curaçaosche Scheepvaart Maatschappij). Fear of submarine attacks and intolerable working conditions forced 420 Chinese sailors of the CSM company to go on strike on Curaçao in February 1942. The conflict culminated on April 20, when a crackdown by guards and military police resulted in mass casualties: 12 killed and 47 wounded (three fatally).
Thus, the first wave of Operation Neuland marked the peak of German U-boat success in the Western Hemisphere. It demonstrated the vulnerability of the Axis powers' adversaries and became a "bitter but necessary lesson." The Allies' harsh countermeasures meant that by the end of 1943, the Caribbean Sea was once again safe for navigation, while German U-boats suffered heavy losses.
Navy airship K-110, with patrol squadron ZP-42, escorting a convoy of merchant ships off the coast of Brazil during World War II.
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