Fighting Under a Different Flag: Multinational Naval Cooperation and Submarine Warfare in the Mediterranean, 1940–1944

The exiled navies of many Allied nations came under British operational control in World War II. Six of these contributed significant proportions of their submarine fleets to the Mediterranean, where there was great need for them, yet troubled relations meant multinational naval cooperation (MNC) was often extremely difficult. British attempts to establish structures to improve this were frequently hampered, while perceived differing strategic “worth” led the British to treat their new allies in an unequal manner. Ultimately, while MNC was broadly successful in the British home theatre, it was much less effective in the Mediterranean and valuable resources subsequently went underused.