Q&A · 38:11

Why Britain and America did not need submarine trade routes

Occasional submarine cargo missions differed from a regular high-value trade route.

Question

Did Britain or the United States use submarines for high-value trade like Japan and Germany?

Short answer

Neither power needed submarine trade routes. Occasional operations moved valuable goods, without constituting regular trade.

Notes

Britain and the United States did not need submarine trade routes of the kind used by Germany and Japan. Submarines occasionally transported particularly valuable goods on individual operations. Those exceptional cargo missions were distinct from trade.