Atlantic Star
| The Atlantic Star | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Awarded by the Monarch of the United Kingdom and the Dominions of the British Commonwealth, and Emperor of India | |
| Country |
 United Kingdom
|
| Type | Military campaign medal |
| Eligibility | All Ranks |
| Awarded for | 180 days of operational service or 60 days of operational flying |
| Campaign(s) | Battle of the Atlantic |
| Clasps | AIR CREW EUROPE FRANCE AND GERMANY |
| Statistics | |
| Established | May 1945 |
| Order of wear | |
| Next (higher) | 1939–1945 Star |
| Next (lower) | Arctic Star |
| Related |
Arctic Star Air Crew Europe Star France and Germany Star |
  Ribbon bar without and with rosette |
|
The Atlantic Star is a military campaign medal, instituted by the United Kingdom in May 1945 for award to subjects of the British Commonwealth for service in the Second World War, specifically those who took part in the Battle of the Atlantic, the longest continuous campaign of the war.
Two clasps were instituted to be worn on the medal ribbon, the Air Crew Europe Clasp and the France and Germany Clasp.
Altogether eight campaign stars and nine clasps were initially instituted for campaign service during the Second World War. On 8 July 1943, the 1939–1945 Star and the Africa Star were the first two of these Stars to be instituted. One more campaign star, the Arctic Star, and one more clasp, the Bomber Command Clasp, were belatedly added on 26 February 2013, more than sixty-seven years after the end of the war.
Only one of these campaign stars, the 1939–1945 Star, covered the full duration of the Second World War from its outbreak on 3 September 1939 to the victory over Japan on 2 September 1945.
No-one could be awarded more than five (now six) campaign stars and no-one could be awarded more than one clasp to any one campaign star. Five of the nine (now ten) clasps were the equivalents of their namesake campaign stars and were awarded for the same respective campaigns as those stars, to be worn on the ribbon of that campaign star of the applicable group which had been earned first. The maximum of six possible campaign stars are the following:
Since only the first of the Atlantic Star, Air Crew Europe Star and France and Germany Star to be earned could be awarded to any one individual, the possible Star and Clasp combinations for these three campaign stars are:
The Battle of the Atlantic took place between 3 September 1939 and 8 May 1945, as German U-boats attacked convoys transporting vital supplies from America and the Colonies to Britain. Warships of the Royal Navy and aircraft of the Royal Air Force escorted these convoys, hunted the U-boats and, despite some notable successes by the U-boats, eventually won a comprehensive victory in the Atlantic.
The Atlantic Star was instituted in May 1945 to honour those who took part in the Battle of the Atlantic and was intended primarily for award to those who served in shipping convoys and their escorts and anti-submarine forces, as well as to those who served on fast merchant ships which sailed alone. Two clasps were instituted to be worn on the Atlantic Star's medal ribbon, the Air Crew Europe Clasp and the France and Germany Clasp.
British uniform regulations stipulated that no one person could be awarded more than one clasp to any one campaign star, and neither the Air Crew Europe Star nor the France and Germany Star could be awarded to a recipient of the Atlantic Star. Subsequent entitlement to either of these two stars was denoted by the award of either the Air Crew Europe Clasp or the France and Germany Clasp to the Atlantic Star. Regulations further stipulated that only the first clasp earned could be worn with the medal.
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Wikipedia