Page 65 - All About History - Issue 19-14

The Deadly Wolfpack

The U-boats menace was never fully culled, hugging the brightly lit shoreline, their radios open
however, and the submariners fought to the war’s thereby announcing their positions to the U-boats
end. They enjoyed another prolific killing spree — lurking out at sea. The pickings were so rich that
the Second Happy Time — during 1942, soon after the German submariners dubbed this period ‘the
America joined the conflict. It was American shooting season’ as
during 1942 that Admiral more than 400 American ships Germany’swolfpackataglance
Dönitz sent his Type “Kretschmer were destroyed.
VII boats to harangue became the most Foralltheirsuccessduringthe
America’s eastern Happy Times, the U-boat crews
seaboard, the killer subs celebra ted still endured great hardship;
kept at sea for months on life on board was dangerous,
end, suckled by special U-boa t claustrophobic, dirty and not In 1945 only 20 per cent
of U-boats leaving port
Type XIV boats, known as commander of for the faint-hearted. When the 20% were expected to return.
‘milk cows’, which carried subcameunderattack,lifewas
vast stores of fuel. WWI I , earning hellish. “When depth charges
As the head of the the nickname areadded,lifebecomesawarof
U-boat Waffe, Dönitz nerves,” claimed the celebrated
saw the United States’ Silent Otto” commander Wolfgang Lüth in a
entry into the war as an 1943 lecture. “These blasts have
opportunity to further devastate Allied shipping. tormenting intensity. The lights go out and we sit i
The United States had no pipelines running up and thedark,andwhenitisdarkallmenbecomemore TheTypeVIICwaslaunchedinSeptember1940and
down its coast, which meant huge tankers had to afraid. Unlike the plane, the submarine cannot fly became the most prevalent U-boat with more than
take to the waters to ensure its war-machine kept away. All that requires stouthearted men.” 600 constructed.
turning. Foolishly, the American merchant vessels Lüth,whorankssecondonlytoKretschmer,
chose to sail with their navigational lights ablaze, having sunk more than 220,000 tonnes of
shipping across 15 different patrols, was one
stouthearted man. He went on to say that
Main crew life aboard a submarine was, “unnatural and 220
sleeping unhealthy compared to life on a sailing vessel,
quarters justasunhealthyascitylifecomparedtolifein
Themajorityofthecrew the country.” He had a point. Once on board the
shared bunks that were A Type VIIC U-boat was 67m (220ft) long and could
housed off the central crewwasnotpermittedtouseanyfreshwaterfor travel at 17 knots (31km/h) once surfaced.
passageway. Each cot bathing or shaving, and each man was expected
was1.8m(5.9ft)longand
58cm (23in) wide and
carriedathinmattress.A
manondutyandaman
offdutysharedeachbunk.

When Germany
surrendered in May
1945, around 50
U-boats were still
at sea.

73

The Type VII destroyed 730 Allied ships during the first
16 months of WWII.

Galley
U-boats sunk around
Thekitchenwashousedonthestarboard 2,840 of the 5,000+
side forward from the diesel engine room and
merchantmen
featuredanumberofcookersandhotplates, lost during WWII,
as well as a small refrigerator and sink with
accounting for more
hot and cold water.
14 than 14 million tonnes.
65