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to provide power to the town. The job was uncomfortable for the submarine crews involved as it required them to work in cold and draughty conditions as the submarines' diesel engines required a constant flow of air. By 27 February sea conditions had improved and more than 100 coal ships had managed
167:
responded by launching
Operation Blackcurrant. The operation saw the deployment of all available submarines to ports and docks where they were moored up and their on-board diesel-powered generators used as an electricity supply. The operation was used to supply power to the navy-owned bases of
134:
cut electricity supply to industry completely and reduced the domestic supply to 19 hours per day across the country. Television services were suspended completely, radio broadcasts were reduced, some magazines were ordered to stop being published and newspapers were cut in size to four pages.
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The cold weather caused a higher than normal demand for coal and power as the country tried to keep warm. At the same time it became more difficult for coal to reach the power stations as it was frozen solid in stockpiles. Where coal was available it was hard to transport with many roads
89:
to moor submarines at harbours and docks and use their onboard diesel generators to provide supplementary power to dockyards and coastal towns. By
February conditions had improved and power stations began to receive sufficient supplies of fuel.
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A combination of low coal stockpiles and the effects of the cold weather on the transport network led to a shortage of fuel reaching power stations, forcing many to shut down or reduce their outputs. The Royal Navy responded by authorising the
553:
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548:
99:
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126:. As a result many power stations were forced to shut down or reduce their output due to a lack of fuel. In an effort to reduce electricity consumption the
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that began in late
January 1947 and would last into March. During this period the country also suffered from a shortage of coal, the principal fuel used in
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peacetime operation carried out
January to February of 1947 to provide electrical power during a power shortage.
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but was also caused by the government relying on over optimistic production reports issued by the
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47:
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Operation
Blackcurrant: supply of power by submarine to Devonport Dockyard: technical report
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at the time. This was partly due to low stocks of coal being kept in the aftermath of the
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of coal trapped by snow and sea conditions too rough to allow transport by
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16:
Royal Navy operation to supply power from submarines in the winter of 1947
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to unload their cargoes at the power stations, easing the fuel crisis.
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Despite
Shinwell's measures the fuel supply remained insufficient and
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occurred across large swathes of the country with even the staff at
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Non-combat military operations involving the United
Kingdom
415:
British
Submarines of World War Two (3 January 2008),
499:(April 1990), "Review of The Bleak Midwinter, 1947",
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54:
42:
21:
475:
100:a period of cold temperatures and heavy snowfall
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8:
544:February 1947 events in the United Kingdom
18:
539:January 1947 events in the United Kingdom
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549:March 1947 events in the United Kingdom
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46:Generate electricity to supplement the
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98:The United Kingdom was subjected to
7:
243:
292:"Heavy Weather — Winter 1947"
272:, 24 February 1947, archived from
14:
447:Burroughs, William James (1997),
338:"Power of Operation Blackcurrant"
309:Eden, Philip (26 January 2007),
184:. As part of the operation the
27:
450:Does the Weather Really Matter?
290:Simons, Paul (1 October 2008),
1:
501:The English Historical Review
387:HMS London Book of Commission
112:National Union of Mineworkers
296:The Times , Times 2 Magazine
118:impassable, 750,000 railway
67:Royal Navy Submarine Service
478:A History of Modern Britain
336:Cox, Ron (8 January 2010),
570:
534:1947 in the United Kingdom
455:Cambridge University Press
384:Leonard, Commander R. F.,
128:Minister of Fuel and Power
266:"Panorama by Candlelight"
157:Central Electricity Board
26:
50:during a power shortage
361:The Admiralty (1947),
312:The big freeze of 1947
159:reduced to working by
75:Operation Blackcurrant
22:Operation Blackcurrant
418:Triumph to Truncheon
153:Houses of Parliament
315:, WeatherOnline Ltd
394:on 16 October 2008
276:on 8 February 2011
170:Devonport Dockyard
489:978-0-330-43983-1
425:on 2 January 2009
149:Buckingham Palace
87:Submarine Service
72:
71:
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497:Middlemas, Keith
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481:
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421:, archived from
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390:, archived from
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195:was deployed to
178:Chatham Dockyard
132:Emanuel Shinwell
108:Second World War
63:Executed by
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37:(shown in 1942)
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231:, p. 548.
229:Middlemas 1990
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217:Burroughs 1997
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104:power stations
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58:Winter of 1947
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464:0-521-56126-4
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270:Time Magazine
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155:and London's
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139:The operation
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48:National Grid
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472:Marr, Andrew
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441:Bibliography
427:, retrieved
423:the original
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396:, retrieved
392:the original
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368:, retrieved
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345:, retrieved
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317:, retrieved
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274:the original
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161:candlelight
528:Categories
429:13 January
398:13 January
370:13 January
347:13 January
319:9 November
204:References
188:submarine
165:Royal Navy
94:Background
79:Royal Navy
342:The Times
244:Marr 2007
192:Truculent
190:HMS
145:blackouts
43:Objective
35:Truculent
474:(2007),
197:Brighton
174:Plymouth
507:(415),
482:, Pan,
186:T-class
163:. The
124:collier
120:waggons
513:571001
511:
486:
461:
151:, the
77:was a
509:JSTOR
484:ISBN
459:ISBN
431:2009
400:2009
372:2009
349:2009
321:2008
182:Kent
176:and
55:Date
33:HMS
505:105
530::
503:,
457:,
407:^
340:,
328:^
294:,
282:^
268:,
251:^
236:^
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130:,
114:.
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