![]() ![]() ![]() Few corsairs would dare attack a large convoy.ĭefeating the corsairs still took a long time and was very expensive. By the 1680s, naval ships regularly convoyed merchantmen on the major shipping routes. The other important innovation of the 1650s was the development of convoy to protect merchant ships from pirates. Sixty years after Admiral Mansell, Admiral Herbert was able to write that ‘they find it hard to escape any of our frigates’. Such vessels, usually known as frigates, were ideal for fighting the Barbary Corsairs. The 1650s saw a huge increase in the navies of England,Holland, andFrance, including many small, fast, shallow-draught ships, often propelled by oars as well as sails. Ransom enabled the wealthier captives to get home eventually, but the fate of most poor captives was a lifetime of slavery. Raids ashore fromItaly toIceland garnered large numbers of captives to be enslaved or offered for ransom. The corsairs continued to take many prizes, both at sea and on land. There were therefore few successes in the first half of the 17 th century. ‘It is almost incredible to relate in how short a time those ships out-sailed the whole fleet out of sight,’ wrote Admiral Mansell after giving chase to Algerian pirates in 1620. Most of their ships were big and clumsy and not really suitable for chasing their much faster Muslim opponents. The navies of the Christian states at this date were relatively small and weak. The fleets of Tunis, Tripoli, and Sallee were much smaller, but still formidable, with fast, well-armed vessels manned by fanatical crews. Algiers alone had over 100 sailing ships and six galleys. Serious attempts to control the Barbary Corsairs began in the 1620s, when they were at their strongest. These Muslim pirates, who attacked Christian shipping and enslaved the captured passengers and crews, were much more dangerous than famous rascals like Blackbeard. The pirates of this period can be divided into two groups, the individualist rovers who are the heroes of our childhoods, and the Barbary Corsairs who operated from bases inAlgiers,Tunis,Tripoli, and Sallee inMorocco. It was not easy and it took about a century, from the 1620s to 1730, to eradicate piracy from the western world (with a short reprise from 1815 to 1830). Piracy and its suppression are much discussed these days, but few writers bother to investigate how piracy was dealt with in the past. * Includes USS Reuben James & USS Kearney, Oct 1941 Deaths - World War II - Due To Other Than Enemy Actionĭeaths - Due To Other Than Enemy Action - Officers Type of CasualtyWith Somali pirates in the news, naval historian Peter Earle takes a timely look at how the Royal Navy dealt with pirates in their 17 th century heyday. Total Officer Candidates Included With Enlisted USNR * Includes USS Reuben James & USS Kearney, Oct 1941ĭeaths - Due to Enemy Action - Enlisted and Officer Candidates Type of Casualty Grand Total Officers, Enlisted, Officer Cand. Deaths - World War II - Due to Enemy Actionĭeaths - Due to Enemy Action - Officers Type of Casualty In May 45, 90.5% on 31 Jul 45 the month in which the Navy hit its peak strength, USNRs on active duty composed 87.4% of all Navy personnel. During this period the USNR composed between 76.8% to 90.5% of total personnel on active duty. During World War II, the USNR outnumbered USN personnel on active duty by a 3 to 1 majority (from 31 July 43 - 31 Dec 45). Estimated age distribution of enlisted personnel in World War II based on data as of 30 June 1945 was: AGE GROUPġ3. Average length of service of officers and enlisted in World War II was 2 years 6 months.ġ2. Peak strength of various staff corps officers during World War II (Warrants not included):ġ1. Peak strength by theater of operations: European (continental)ġ0. Peak strength of Navy overseas (as of 30 June 1945)ĩ. The male enlisted strength of the Navy V-J Day () was 2,994,696. ![]() An estimated 3,639,615 (87%) of Navy Personnel served overseas and in all probability were exposed to combat. Male and Female enlisted input from civil life, July 1941 thru Dec 1945:Ħ. Total of 3,546,179 persons entered the Naval Service during World War II.ĥ. (of those inducted, 189,365 remained inductees 1,359,920 voluntarily enlisted as USN-SV or USNR-SV)Ĥ. Volunteers and Draftees in WWII: Total enlistments, 12/1/41 to 12/31/46 The number of officers and enlisted personnel that served in the Navy during World War II. ![]()
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