Free Belgian Forces: Navy
After the invasion of 1940, almost all the Belgian Fishing Fleet left Belgium for the United Kingdom with 226 sailors succeeding in reaching Britain, and another 256 being forced to turn back by bad weather and German Stuka attacks. Many of these sailors went on to join the Free Belgian Navy.
During the war, the Belgian Navy operated two corvettes and a group of minesweepers. The Navy participated in the Battle of the Atlantic, and had 350 men by May 1943.
Ships of the Belgian Merchant Marine also supported the Allies; 32 ships were lost in the course of the war.
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