i love my mother The Destroyers for Bases Agreement between the United States and the United Kingdom, September 2, 1940, transferred fifty destroyers from the United States Navy in exchange for land rights on British possessions. The destroyers became the Town class. September 2 is the 245th day of the year (246th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... 1940 (MCMXL) was a leap year starting on Monday (the link is to a full 1940 calendar). ... USS Lassen, an Arleigh Burke-class destroyer In naval terminology, a destroyer is a fast and maneuverable yet long-endurance warship intended to escort larger vessels in a fleet or battle group and defend them against smaller, short-range attackers (originally torpedo boats, later submarines and aircraft). ... The United States Navy, also known as the USN or the U.S. Navy, is a branch of the United States armed forces responsible for conducting naval operations. ... The Town class destroyers were warships transferred from the United States Navy to the Royal Navy and the Royal Canadian Navy in exchange for military bases in the Bahamas and elsewhere, as outlined in the Destroyers for Bases Agreement between Britain and United States, signed on 2 September 1940. ...

Background

The Second World War started in September 1939. After the brief interlude of the Phony War, the Battle of France saw France and the Low Countries quickly overrun by the Nazi German Blitzkrieg in May 1940. This left the United Kingdom and her Empire standing alone against Hitler. Mushroom cloud from the nuclear explosion over Nagasaki rising 18 km into the air. ... British Ministry of Home Security Poster of a type that was common during the Phony War The Phony War , or in Winston Churchills words the Twilight War, was a phase in early World War II marked by few military operations in Continental Europe, in the months following the German... Combatants France United Kingdom Canada Czechoslovakia Poland Belgium Netherlands Luxembourg Germany Italy Commanders Maurice Gamelin, Maxime Weygand (French) Lord Gort (British Expeditionary Force) H.G. Winkelman (Dutch) Gerd von Rundstedt (Army Group A) Fedor von Bock (Army Group B) Wilhelm von Leeb (Army Group C) H.R.H. Umberto di... The Low Countries, the historical region of de Nederlanden, are the countries (see Country) on low-lying land around the delta of the Rhine, Scheldt, and Meuse (Maas) rivers. ... Nazi Germany, or the Third Reich, commonly refers to Germany in the years 1933–1945, when it was under the firm control of the totalitarian and fascist ideology of the Nazi Party, with the Führer Adolf Hitler as dictator. ... The defining characteristic of what is commonly known as Blitzkrieg is that it is a highly mobile form of mechanized warfare. ... The British Empire in 1897, marked in pink, the traditional colour for Imperial British dominions on maps. ...

Although the United States government was sympathetic to Britain's plight, American public opinion at the time overwhelmingly supported isolationism to avoid U.S. involvement in "another European war". Reflecting this sentiment, Congress had passed the Neutrality Act three years previously, which banned the shipment of arms from the U.S. to any combatant nation, unless paid for in cash. Additionally, President Franklin D. Roosevelt was further constrained by the upcoming 1940 Presidential election, as his critics sought to portray him as being pro-war. Isolationism is a foreign policy which combines a non-interventionist military and a political policy of economic nationalism (protectionism). ... Several United States laws have been called Neutrality Acts: The Neutrality Act of 1935 prohibited American citizens from selling arms to belligerents in international war. ... FDR redirects here. ...

By late May, following the evacuation of British forces from Dunkirk, France, in Operation Dynamo, the Royal Navy was in immediate need of ships, especially as they were now facing the Battle of the Atlantic in which German U-boats threatened Britain's supplies of food and other resources essential to the war effort. Location within France For the battleship, see Dunkerque Dunkirk (French: Dunkerque; Dutch: Duinkerke; German: Dünkirchen) is a harbour city and a commune in the northernmost part of France, in the département of Nord, 10 km from the Belgian border. ... French troops rescued by a British merchant ship at Dunkirk British evacuation on Dunkirk beach Operation Dynamo (or Dunkirk Evacuation, the Miracle of Dunkirk or just Dunkirk) was the name given to the World War II mass evacuation of Allied soldiers from May 26 to June 4, 1940, during the... The Royal Navy of the United Kingdom is the oldest of the British armed services (and is therefore the Senior Service). ... Combatants Royal Navy Royal Canadian Navy United States Navy Kriegsmarine Regia Marina (until 1943) Commanders Sir Percy Noble Sir Max K. Horton Percy W. Nelles Leonard W. Murray Ernest J. King Erich Raeder Karl Dönitz Casualties 30,248 merchant sailors 3,500 merchant vessels 175 warships 28,000 sailors... U-boat is also a nickname for some diesel locomotives built by GE; see List of GE locomotives October 1939. ...

With German troops advancing rapidly into France and many in the U.S. Government convinced that the defeat of France and Britain was imminent, the U.S. sent a proposal to the United Kingdom through the British Ambassador, the Marquess of Lothian, for a U.S. lease of airfields in Trinidad, Bermuda, and Newfoundland.^[1] British Prime Minister Winston Churchill initially rejected the offer on May 27 unless Britain received something in return. On June 1, as the defeat of France loomed, Roosevelt bypassed the Neutrality Act by declaring "surplus" many millions of rounds of U.S. ammunition and guns, authorizing their shipment to England. But Roosevelt rejected Churchill's pleas for destroyers. Philip Henry Kerr, 11th Marquess of Lothian (1882–1940) was a British politician and diplomat. ... Sir Winston Leonard Spencer-Churchill, KG, OM, CH, TD, FRS, PC (Can) (30 November 1874 – 24 January 1965) was an English statesman, soldier, and author, best known as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom during the Second World War. ... May 27 is the 147th day (148th in leap years) of the year in the Gregorian calendar, with 218 days remaining. ... June 1 is the 152nd day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (153rd in leap years), with 213 days remaining. ...

By August, as Britain stood alone against the Nazis, U.S. Ambassador Joseph P. Kennedy reported from London that a British surrender was "inevitable". Seeking to persuade Roosevelt to send the destroyers, Churchill warned Roosevelt ominously that if Britain were vanquished, its colonial islands close to American shores could become a direct threat to the U.S. if they fell into German hands. Joseph Joe Patrick Kennedy, Sr. ...

The deal

Finally, as the Battle of Britain intensified on September 2, 1940, and the Luftwaffe and RAF fought in the skies over England, United States Secretary of State, Cordell Hull, signaled agreement to the transfer of the destroyers to the Royal Navy. September 2 is the 245th day of the year (246th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... This does not adequately cite its references or sources. ... RAF is an three letter acronym for: Royal Air Force -- the Air Force of the United Kingdom (see also Air Ministry) Red Army Faction (Rote Armee Fraktion) -- a German terror organisation Rigas Autobusu Fabrika -- a factory making buses in Riga, Latvia Rapid Action Force in India Računarski Fakultet RAF... Seal of the United States Department of State. ... Cordell Hull (October 2, 1871 – July 23, 1955) was an American politician from the State of Tennessee. ...

In exchange, the US was granted land in various British possessions for the establishment of naval or air bases, on ninety-nine-year rent-free leases, on:

• Avalon Peninsula
• Eastern side of the Bahamas
• Southern coast of Jamaica
• Western coast of St. Lucia,
• West coast of Trinidad
  • Gulf of Paria,
• Antigua — Antigua Air Station
• British Guiana within fifty miles of Georgetown.

The agreement also stipulated Britain's acceptance of the US proposal for air and naval bases rights in: The Avalon Peninsula is a large peninsula (9,270 km²) that makes up the southeast portion of the island of Newfoundland. ... Look up Trinidad in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... The Gulf of Paria (Golfo de Paria in Spanish) is a shallow inland sea between the island of Trinidad (Republic of Trinidad and Tobago) and the east coast of Venezuela. ... British Guiana and its boundary lines, 1896 Flag of British Guiana British Guiana was the name of the British colony on the northern coast of South America, now the independent nation of Guyana. ... To meet Wikipedias quality standards, this article or section may require cleanup. ...

• The Great Sound and Castle Harbour, Bermuda
• South and eastern coasts of Newfoundland

The US accepted the "generous action… to enhance the national security of the United States" and immediately transferred fifty United States Navy destroyers "generally referred to as the twelve hundred-ton type" (also known in references as "flush-deck" destroyers, or "four-pipers" after their four funnels) Forty-three went to the Royal Navy and seven to the Royal Canadian Navy. Ships were transferred on from the Royal Navy to the Royal Netherlands Navy, the Royal Norwegian Navy and the Soviet Navy. The Great Sound is a body of water shaped by the islands of Bermuda. ... Castle Harbour is a large natural harbour in Bermuda. ... For other uses, see Newfoundland (disambiguation). ... A funnel is the smokestack on a ship used to expel boiler smoke or engine exhaust ... The Royal Navy of the United Kingdom is the oldest of the British armed services (and is therefore the Senior Service). ... The Royal Canadian Navy (RCN) was the navy of Canada from 1911 until 1968 when the three branches of the Canadian military were merged into the Canadian Armed Forces. ... Royal Netherlands Navy Jack The Koninklijke Marine (Royal Netherlands Navy ) is the navy of the Netherlands. ... Ranks Norwegian military ranks The Royal Norwegian Navy (often abbreviated as RNoN) is the branch of the Norwegian Defence Force responsible for naval operations. ... The Soviet Navy (Russian: Военно-морской флот СССР, Voyenno-morskoy flot SSSR, literally Naval military forces of the USSR) was the naval arm of the Soviet armed forces. ...

In the Commonwealth navies the ships were named after towns, and were therefore known as the Town class, although they had originally belonged to three ship classes (the Caldwell, Clemson, and Wickes classes). The Commonwealth of Nations (CN), usually known as The Commonwealth, is a voluntary association of 53 independent sovereign states all of which are former colonies of the United Kingdom, except for Mozambique and the United Kingdom itself. ... The Town class destroyers were warships transferred from the United States Navy to the Royal Navy and the Royal Canadian Navy in exchange for military bases in the Bahamas and elsewhere, as outlined in the Destroyers for Bases Agreement between Britain and United States, signed on 2 September 1940. ... A ship class is a group of ships of a similar design. ... Wikipedia does not yet have an article with this exact name. ... Clemson-class destroyers were commissioned by the United States Navy from 1919 to 1922, built by various shipyards. ... The Wickes-class destroyers were built as a result of 1916 Congressional funding to build a fleet second to none. The basic requirement for the class was a possible speed of 35 knots. ...

References

1. ^ Martin Gilbert, Churchill and America. New York: Simon & Schuster, 2005.

External links

• "The New Bases Acquired for old Destroyers" - US military
• Text of the agreement