Sea Frontier

Sea Frontiers were established by the United States Navy from 1 July 1941 during World War II as areas of defense against enemy vessels, especially submarines, along the American coasts. Sea Frontiers generally started at the shore of the United States and extended outwards into the sea for a nominal distance of two hundred miles.

The commander of a Sea Frontier had control and responsibility for convoys within its defined area, had its own vessels for convoy use or other uses as determined by the commander, and worked closely with the U.S. Army Air Force in the defense of the frontier. Usually, offices of the U.S. Navy and U.S. Army Air Force officers assigned to the frontier, had their offices side by side in order to create effective two-way communications and expedited reaction to reports of enemy presence.

In addition to providing escorts for convoys within its frontier, the frontier was responsible for sea-air rescue, harbor defense, shipping lane patrol, minesweeping, and air operations.

Sea Frontiers were intended for wartime use, but many continued on for some years after the end of World War II.

In addition to the Sea Frontiers under the cognizance of U.S. military authorities, the Canadian Coastal Zone was the responsibility of the Royal Canadian Navy. This formation was very active since the majority of trans-Atlantic convoys originated or terminated in Canadian waters.

List of Sea Frontiers

• Alaskan Sea Frontier
• Caribbean Sea Frontier - The Caribbean Sea Frontier (CARIBSEAFRON) was under the command of Vice Admiral John H. Hoover, Commander Caribbean Sea Frontier or COMCARIBSEAFRON, and the responsibility of the frontier was the protection of Allied shipping in the Caribbean Sea and along the Atlantic Coast of South America during World War II. The German U-Boat made a last bitter stand in the Trinidad area in the fall of 1942. Since then, coastal waters continued to be relatively safe of the U-boat menace.
• Eastern Sea Frontier - proved to be a "rich hunting ground" for German submarines during early years of the war. See Second Happy Time.
• Gulf Sea Frontier - Organized 6 February 1942 the Gulf Sea Frontier (GULFSEAFRON) was headquartered at Key West, Florida, and was later moved to Miami, Florida on 17 June 1942. Captain Russell S. Crenshaw was Commander, Gulf Sea Frontier (COMGULFSEAFRON) until June 3, 1942, when he was replaced by Rear Admiral James L. Kauffman. During World War II, it was responsible for protecting the waters of Florida and the Bahamas as well as the Gulf of Mexico, the Yucatan Channel and areas near Cuba.
• Hawaiian Sea Frontier
• Moroccan Sea Frontier - The Morocco Sea Frontier, sometimes called the North Africa Sea Frontier, was a U.S. naval unit on the east coast of French Morocco during World War II. It was established as a Sea Frontier under the command of Rear Admiral John L. Hall, Jr.
• Northwest Sea Frontier
• Panama Sea Frontier
• Philippine Sea Frontier - organised after U.S. return to the Philippines in 1944
• Western Sea Frontier

See also

• List of major U.S. Commands of World War II

References

• Admiral Earnest J. King, First Report to the Secretary of the Navy: Covering our Peacetime Navy and our Wartime Navy and including combat operations up to 1 March 1944. April 1944, pp. 75–88.
• Samuel Eliot Morrison, History of United States Naval Operations in World War II, The Battle of the Atlantic, 1939-1943. ISBN 0-7858-1302-0

External links

• U-boat Archive - Eastern Sea Frontier
• U-boat Archive - Eastern Sea Frontier - War Diary March 1942
• Glossary of U.S. Naval Abbreviations (OPNAV 29-P1000)
• Naval Operations in the Atlantic and Mediterranean to March 1944