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Quiz about You Think You Know About ire Ireland in WWII 2

You Think You Know About Éire (Ireland) in WWII? 2 Quiz

"The fact that Ireland was standing aside at this moment posed,from a naval angle,special problems which affected,sometimes mortally,all sailors engaged in the Atlantic,and earned their particular loathing". Nicholas Monsarrat RNVR,The Cruel Sea 1951

A multiple-choice quiz by CuddlyNutter. Estimated time: 7 mins.

Author
CuddlyNutter

Time
7 mins

Type
Multiple Choice

Quiz #
382,504

Updated
Dec 03 21

# Qns
10

Difficulty
Very Difficult

Avg Score
4 / 10

Plays
150

One at a Time - Single Page - Timed Game

Question 1 of 10

1. What was the maximum number of ships of the Irish Marine and Coast Watching Service, predecessor to the Irish Naval Service, during World War II? Hint

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Question 2 of 10

2. At the outbreak of World War II the British Merchant Fleet consisted of 1,900 ocean going ships. By comparision, how many ships saw service with the Irish Mercantile Marine during the whole of the War? Hint

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Question 3 of 10

3. Pre-war there were plans to build an oil refinery in Éire (Ireland). It was never built but seven oil tankers were built in Bremen-Vegesack, Germany, to supply the refinery. What happened to them? Hint

Sunk/destoryed before delivery to Ireland.

Britain requisitioned them.

Voluntarily transferred to the British register.

Germany requisitioned them.

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Question 4 of 10

4. How many ships of the Irish Mercantile Marine were sunk during the war? Hint

All of them

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Question 5 of 10

5. How are the ships of the Irish Mercantile Marine, that were sunk during the war commemorated in Éire (Ireland)? Hint

Modern Irish naval vessels are named after them.

They have roads named after them.

A memorial at Irish National War Memorial Gardens.

A memorial at Cobh, County Cork.

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Question 6 of 10

6. On 23 October 1943 the MV Kerlogue was attacked by Mosquitos of No.307 Polish Night Fighter Squadron from RAF Predannack, Cornwall. What happed to the MV Kerlogue? Hint

The Poles missed so the attack was a failure..

She was saved as her cargo of coal prevented the shells from penetrating her hull.

She sunk after her cargo of petrol exploded.

She successfully defended herself and repelled the attack.

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Question 7 of 10

7. Shortly after the start of World War II British merchant ships were armed and began to sail in convoy. Some even had catapult aircraft mounted on their decks (CAM ships). Which of the following is NOT true of ships of the Irish Mercantile Marine? Hint

They sailed alone.

Comparatively new and fast they could outrun trouble.

They were unarmed.

Their sides were painted with the Irish Tricolour.

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Question 8 of 10

8. Under the "cattle-coal pact" the British set up a central authority for the purchase of cattle. The farmers "preferred" route for the export of cattle was via Northern Ireland and not the official route via the ships of the Irish Mercantile Marine. Why?
Hint

So the British could use their own ships instead of tying up the few Irish ships.

Cattle "from" Northern Ireland commanded a better price.

After the sinking of the MV Meath with 700 cattle on board it as considered to be more prudent.

Northern Ireland to Great Britain was the shortest, cheapest, crossing.

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Question 9 of 10

9. Éire (Ireland) had an overall surplus of food but some foods were not grown in sufficient quantity, such as wheat. In early 1942 the Allies restricted wheat deliveries. In retaliation the Irish threatened to withhold the export of what? Hint

Guinness

Potatoes

Cattle

Whiskey

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Question 10 of 10

10. The period 1939-1945 was referred to as what by members of the Irish Mercantile Marine? Hint

The Emergency

The Close Run

The Battle for Éire (Ireland)

The Long Watch

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Quiz Answer Key and Fun Facts

1. What was the maximum number of ships of the Irish Marine and Coast Watching Service, predecessor to the Irish Naval Service, during World War II?

Answer: 10

Until 1938 and the transfer of the treaty ports to Éire (Ireland), the UK was responsible for the defence of Irish waters. Therefore in May 1939 the Irish Government ordered 2 Motor Torpedo Boats (MTB's) from the UK. This order was increased to 6 and the Marine and Coast Watching Service was established in September 1939. Ireland finished the war with 10 vessels 6 MTB's and 4 assorted vessels and 300 personel.

Answer: 71

In 1923 Irish Mercantile Marine consisted of 127 ships. However, this number dropped every year until there were only 56 ships at the outbreak of World War II. None of these ships where classed as ocean-going; rather they were designed for the short sea routes to Great Britain the main market for Irish exports. In March 1941 15 ocean-going dry cargo ships were purchased/leased.

Answer: Voluntarily transferred to the British register.

Two days after the outbreak of war Éamon de Valera, transferred the tankers to the British registry without getting any promise of fuel supply in return and all seven were lost during the war. Considering the size of the Irish Mercantile Marine, this was a considerable loss that Éire (Ireland) could ill afford.

4. How many ships of the Irish Mercantile Marine were sunk during the war?

Answer: 16

Comparatively speaking, these losses were heavy, for although never more than 800 men were serving with the Mercantile Marine, 136 of them died in the 16 ships that were sunk.

5. How are the ships of the Irish Mercantile Marine, that were sunk during the war commemorated in Éire (Ireland)?

Answer: They have roads named after them.

Dublin, has a long maritime tradition, particularly the Ringsend area. When the area was being redeveloped, in the 1970s, roads were named after the ships which were lost.

6. On 23 October 1943 the MV Kerlogue was attacked by Mosquitos of No.307 Polish Night Fighter Squadron from RAF Predannack, Cornwall. What happed to the MV Kerlogue?

Answer: She was saved as her cargo of coal prevented the shells from penetrating her hull.

The RAF Mosquito attacked lasted for twenty minutes the aircraft repeatedly strafed the MV Kerlogue with their 20mm Hispano cannons. After limping back to Cobh shell fragments where discovered when her cargo of coal was unloaded.

The British Naval Attaché in Dublin reported that it was "unfortunate from a British point of view" but the RAF would not apportion blame on the Poles. Even so, the British War Cabinet authorised payments to the injured crew.

http://www.mariner.ie/history-3/articles/ships/kerlogue/

Answer: Comparatively new and fast they could outrun trouble.

At the start of the war Irish ships joined convoys escorted by the Royal Navy. However the protection promised by the convoy system was not confirmed by experience. So they chose to sail alone, identifying themselves as neutrals with bright lights and by painting the Irish tricolour and EIRE in large letters on their sides and decks, and as neutrals they were also unarmed.

Answer: Cattle "from" Northern Ireland commanded a better price.

From the early 1930s there was a trade war between Éire (Ireland) and Britain in which Britain imposed a tax on Irish products. This meant that cattle from Éire were taxed but cattle from Northern Ireland, as part of the UK, were not. So cattle were smuggled across the border to take advantage of the better price.

Answer: Guinness

Supplies to Éire were resumed with the delivery of 30,000 tons of wheat. David Gray, the United States Ambassador to Ireland complained that it was a waste of "a vital necessity for what Americans regard, at the best, as a luxury and at worst a poison".

10. The period 1939-1945 was referred to as what by members of the Irish Mercantile Marine?

Answer: The Long Watch

Despite being attacked by both sides, incurring losses of one in five, sailing alone and unarmed the Irish Mercantile Marine made a point of always stopping for survivors, of either side, by the wars end Irish ships had rescued 534 seamen.

On 16 May 1945, Éamon de Valera, had this to say: "To the men of our Mercantile Marine who faced all the perils of the ocean to bring us essential supplies, the nation is profoundly grateful."

Source: Author CuddlyNutter

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