KILLERS AND THE KILLED Victory in the Atlantic, 1943-1945 Release Date: February 22, 1953 ... (Episode #16) The Battle of the Atlantic rages on into the fourth year of the war. It is clear that the Allies are losing this battle far into 1943. But the Americans, Canadians and British set up a ring of strategic air bases to counteract the destructive damage that the German U-Boats are causing. Allied air power forces the U-Boats to stay submerged longer. The ones that attempt to surface are often found and then destroyed by Allied destroyers, airplanes and other ships. But in the middle of the North Atlantic is the Black Pit where the planes are too far from their bases. The Allies then turn to bombing the factories that mass-produce the U-Boats and destroy them before they are put to sea. The Americans build their forces to win the Battle of the Atlantic by producing new long range planes and convert other merchant ships into mini-flat tops, which help win the battle during 1944. Many pilots are trained to help win this important prelude to the D-Day invasion. Just weeks before the Allied invasion of Normandy, the USS Guadalcanal, which is one of the converted aircraft carriers, actually captures the U-Boat "U-505", the first enemy ship captured on the high seas since the War of 1812. The Allied anti-submarine plan destroys almost the entire German U-Boat force and is the key to winning this battle which, help ensures that the Allied armies which are deployed in France never run out of supplies. Lastly, before the ultimate German surrender in April 1945, some 866 U-Boats are sunk to the bottom of the Atlantic Ocean. Victory in the Atlantic is the result of teamwork and the integration of all available weapons for the Allies. The Battle of the Atlantic is over and the seas are once again safe for merchant ships to deliver their supplies to help win the grandest battle of all: World War II.