U-Boats were a real menace.
How did Churchill cross Atlantic to meet with Roosevelt and return?
How did Churchill cross Atlantic to meet with Roosevelt and return?
How did Churchill cross Atlantic in December 1941?
- Thread starter bushmaster1313
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JohnK
US Veteran
Great question, I want to know also.
Cross Atlantic flights were risky back then, and surely he wasn't exposed to U-boats.
Cross Atlantic flights were risky back then, and surely he wasn't exposed to U-boats.
UncleEd
Member
Battleship HMS Duke of York
THE PILGRIM
Member
So what ship did FDR travel on?
It was one of his 'Maine' ships.
It was one of his 'Maine' ships.
Roosevelt travelled on the battleship IOWA
Bkreutz
US Veteran
Heavy Cruiser USS Augusta (he didn't have any oceans to cross)
OP
I was asking about the clandestine meeting in December 1941 shortly after Pearl Harbor.
You are correct the IOWA on time The IOWA has a bath tub for Roosevelt's trips to Cairo and Tehran.
THE PILGRIM
Member
You mean this one: The First Washington Conference, also called Arcadia.
Churchill traveled on the battleship HMS Duke of York , departed Clyde, Scotland to the Chesapeake Bay, MD.
In these days of atomic power and midair refueling where non stop round the world travel is common, we often forget things were very different only one or two generations ago.
In late January, 1945, President Roosevelt left Washington on the heavy cruiser, USS Quincy. Eleven days and almost 5000 miles later he arrived in Malta on March 2 (this date, 70 years earlier). From there he (on the Quincy) and Churchill (on the HMS Orion) continued on to the Yalta conference where they met with Stalin to determine the fate of post war Europe.
Today, that would be an overnight trip for Air Force One.
Another interesting tidbit about that meeting in Yalta, in the Crimea; I understand that it was Stalin's first and only flight. It was a rough one where he was sick and "white knuckled" the entire flight. I believe that he never flew again.
Bob
In late January, 1945, President Roosevelt left Washington on the heavy cruiser, USS Quincy. Eleven days and almost 5000 miles later he arrived in Malta on March 2 (this date, 70 years earlier). From there he (on the Quincy) and Churchill (on the HMS Orion) continued on to the Yalta conference where they met with Stalin to determine the fate of post war Europe.
Today, that would be an overnight trip for Air Force One.
Another interesting tidbit about that meeting in Yalta, in the Crimea; I understand that it was Stalin's first and only flight. It was a rough one where he was sick and "white knuckled" the entire flight. I believe that he never flew again.
Bob
JeffNW
Member
How?(having read a few biographies of this great man, depending on the time of day it was-certainly not very early morning)he was probably soused.
LVSteve
Member
Nope, HMS Prince of Wales. Duke of York was the same class of battleship but was not commissioned until a few days after the Atlantic Charter conference.
In late January, 1945, President Roosevelt left Washington on the heavy cruiser, USS Quincy. Eleven days and almost 5000 miles later he arrived in Malta on March 2 (this date, 70 years earlier). From there he (on the Quincy) and Churchill (on the HMS Orion) continued on to the Yalta conference where they met with Stalin to determine the fate of post war Europe.
If he left in "late January,,, and sailed for 11 days," why did he not get there 'til March 2nd??
If he left in "late January,,, and sailed for 11 days," why did he not get there 'til March 2nd??
THE PILGRIM
Member
In mid-December 1941, Duke of York embarked Prime Minister Winston Churchill for a trip to the United States to confer with President Franklin D. Roosevelt. She arrived at Annapolis, Maryland, on 22 December 1941, made a shakedown cruise to Bermuda in January 1942, and departed for Scapa Flow on 17 January with Churchill returning home by air instead of on Duke of York.
He floated on a cloud of cigar smoke.
Or he sailed on the Duke of Earl.
Something like that.
Or he sailed on the Duke of Earl.
Something like that.
roarindan,
I slipped in an extra month.
Roosevelt arrived in Malta on February 2, 1945.
Bob
I slipped in an extra month.
Roosevelt arrived in Malta on February 2, 1945.Bob
How much Vermouth did Churchill like in his Martini?
jag312
Member
Stalin was afraid of flying? He was also afraid of horses.
Alk8944
US Veteran
No, he isn't! Iowa wasn't even launched until 8/27/1942 and commissioned 2/22/1943. OP asked about December 1941, not Yalta in 1945!
KLNFrame
Member
Pitty Churchill didn't fall overboard and drown.
vigil617
US Veteran
Pitty Churchill, the Prime Minister's favorite long-haired cat, accompanied him everywhere but famously detested water, and it is true, did not fall overboard and drown.
--from the Wikipedia article
Coldshooter
Member
As an aside I read the Queen Mary was so fast it was considered safe as U-boats would have to be in perfect position and then would only get one shot.
MOONDAWG
US Veteran
...I understand that it was Stalin's first and only flight.
It was a rough one where he was sick and "white knuckled" the entire flight. I believe that he never flew again.
Bob
Judging Russian aircraft of that era, it's understandable.
THE PILGRIM
Member
Judging Russian aircraft of that era, it's understandable.
We gave the Ruskies a bunch of airplanes, including brand new B-17s.
They could have 'VIP-ed' old Joe a B-17.
I think he was most likely afraid of flying.
And he was most definitely afraid of getting too far and staying too long away from the Kermlin.
LVSteve
Member
Not Churchill or FDR, but my father got to cross the Atlantic on the Queen Mary during December 1942 along with about 15,000 of his closest friends. The Queen was hit with a rouge wave and came close to capsizing in the mid-Atlantic.
Ocean travel at this time wasn't a sure thing either.
LTC
Ocean travel at this time wasn't a sure thing either.
LTC
My pop emigrated to the US on the Queen Mary in '47.
Before the war Roosevelt used the heavy cruiser USS Houston for his personal yacht. Multiple times he took her out for no reason other than his own vacation. The Houston would hang around while Sailors took Roosevelt fishing in one of her boats. Once, to the chagrin of the captain, Roosevelt told a sailor (bosun?) that he could take the boat out again for his own private evening of fishing. The captain had to bite his tongue because Roosevelt was CIC.
Early in the war a U boat fired torpedoes at a battleship that had Churchill aboard. They exploded short of the ship due to faulty magnetic detonators. Anyone remember which battleship Churchill was on?
It isn't often mentioned but the US Merchant Marine had a higher percentage of men killed than the Army, Navy or Marines.
Early in the war a U boat fired torpedoes at a battleship that had Churchill aboard. They exploded short of the ship due to faulty magnetic detonators. Anyone remember which battleship Churchill was on?
It isn't often mentioned but the US Merchant Marine had a higher percentage of men killed than the Army, Navy or Marines.
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