World War II by country throughout the war, as did the international city of Tangier. Nauru was administered by Australia under a League of Nations mandate. Nauru was shelled by a German surface raider in December 1940, aiming to incapacitate its phosphate mining operations (this action was probably the most distant military activity carried out by Germany during the entire war). Phosphates are important for making ammunition and fertilizers. Nauru was occupied by Japan from 1942–45, and was the target of shelling by American battleships and cruisers, and aerial bombing by the Allies. For example, Nauru was bombarded by the American battleships "North Carolina", "Washington",
Military equipment of Sweden during World War II the Royal Navy lived through an enormous enhancement, ending up as the second-strongest naval power of the Baltic Sea after the Soviet Union. Number of destroyers pre-war: 13 Number of destroyers in 1939: 14 Number of destroyers in 1940: 19 Number of destroyers in 1941: 20 Number of destroyers in 1942: 23 Number of destroyers in 1943: 27 Number of destroyers in 1944: 28 Number of destroyers in 1945: 28 Sweden's air force at the beginning of World War II was relatively small and lacked modern radar systems, engines, or weaponry. This changed during the build-up in the 1940s, though,