Operation Teardrop was a
United States Navy
The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage ...
operation during
World War II
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
, conducted between April and May 1945, to sink German
U-boat
U-boats were naval submarines operated by Germany, particularly in the First and Second World Wars. Although at times they were efficient fleet weapons against enemy naval warships, they were most effectively used in an economic warfare role ...
s approaching the
Eastern Seaboard that were believed to be armed with
V-1 flying bomb
The V-1 flying bomb (german: Vergeltungswaffe 1 "Vengeance Weapon 1") was an early cruise missile. Its official Ministry of Aviation (Nazi Germany), Reich Aviation Ministry () designation was Fi 103. It was also known to the Allies as the buz ...
s. Germany had threatened to attack New York with V-1 flying bombs and
rocket U-boat
The Rocket U-boat was a series of military projects undertaken by Nazi Germany during the Second World War. The projects, which were undertaken at Peenemünde Army Research Center, aimed to develop submarine-launched rockets, flying bombs and m ...
s. After the war, it was determined the submarines had not been carrying either.
Operation Teardrop was planned during late 1944 in response to intelligence reports which indicated that Germany was preparing a force of missile-armed submarines. Two large U.S. Navy
anti-submarine warfare
Anti-submarine warfare (ASW, or in older form A/S) is a branch of underwater warfare that uses surface warships, aircraft, submarines, or other platforms, to find, track, and deter, damage, or destroy enemy submarines. Such operations are t ...
task forces were set up. The plan was executed in April 1945 after several
Type IX submarines put to sea from Norway bound for North America. While severe weather conditions in the
North Atlantic Ocean
The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's five oceans, with an area of about . It covers approximately 20% of Earth's surface and about 29% of its water surface area. It is known to separate the "Old World" of Africa, Europe an ...
greatly reduced the effectiveness of the four U.S. Navy
escort carrier
The escort carrier or escort aircraft carrier (U.S. hull classification symbol CVE), also called a "jeep carrier" or "baby flattop" in the United States Navy (USN) or "Woolworth Carrier" by the Royal Navy, was a small and slow type of aircraft ...
s involved, long patrol lines of
destroyer escort
Destroyer escort (DE) was the United States Navy mid-20th-century classification for a warship designed with the endurance necessary to escort mid-ocean convoys of merchant marine ships.
Development of the destroyer escort was promoted by th ...
s detected and engaged most of the German submarines. Aircraft of the
Royal Canadian Air Force
The Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF; french: Aviation royale canadienne, ARC) is the air and space force of Canada. Its role is to "provide the Canadian Forces with relevant, responsive and effective airpower". The RCAF is one of three environm ...
supported this effort.
Five of the seven submarines in the group stationed off the United States were sunk, four with their entire crews. Thirty-three crew members from were captured, and specialists among them abusively interrogated. One destroyer escort was sunk, with the loss of most of her crew. The war ended shortly afterwards and all surviving U-boats surrendered. Interrogation of their crews found that missile launching equipment was not fitted.
Background
In late 1944, the
Allies
An alliance is a relationship among people, groups, or states that have joined together for mutual benefit or to achieve some common purpose, whether or not explicit agreement has been worked out among them. Members of an alliance are called ...
received intelligence reports which suggested that Germany's ''
Kriegsmarine
The (, ) was the navy of Germany from 1935 to 1945. It superseded the Imperial German Navy of the German Empire (1871–1918) and the inter-war (1919–1935) of the Weimar Republic. The was one of three official branches, along with the a ...
'' was planning to use launched from submarines to attack cities on the east coast of the United States. In September of that year, Oskar Mantel, a spy captured by the U.S. Navy when the submarine (
U-1229) transporting him to
Maine
Maine () is a state in the New England and Northeastern regions of the United States. It borders New Hampshire to the west, the Gulf of Maine to the southeast, and the Canadian provinces of New Brunswick and Quebec to the northeast and north ...
was sunk, told his
FBI
The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) is the domestic Intelligence agency, intelligence and Security agency, security service of the United States and its principal Federal law enforcement in the United States, federal law enforcement age ...
interrogators that several missile-equipped U-boats were being readied.
United States Tenth Fleet
The U.S. Tenth Fleet is a functional formation and a numbered fleet in the United States Navy. It was first created as an anti-submarine warfare coordinating organization during the Battle of the Atlantic in the Second World War. It was react ...
analysts subsequently examined photos of unusual mountings on U-boats at
bases in Norway, but concluded that they were wooden tracks used to load torpedoes. Further rumors of missile-armed submarines emerged later that year, including one from Sweden passed on by the
Supreme Headquarters Allied Expeditionary Force
Supreme Headquarters Allied Expeditionary Force (SHAEF; ) was the headquarters of the Commander of Allied forces in north west Europe, from late 1943 until the end of World War II. U.S. General Dwight D. Eisenhower was the commander in SHAEF th ...
. The
British Admiralty
The Admiralty was a department of the Government of the United Kingdom responsible for the command of the Royal Navy until 1964, historically under its titular head, the Lord High Admiral – one of the Great Officers of State. For much of it ...
discounted these reports, and assessed that while V-1s could be potentially mounted on Type IX submarines, the Germans were unlikely to devote scarce resources to such a project.
![Duxford UK Feb2005 V1flyingbomb](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/00/Duxford_UK_Feb2005_V1flyingbomb.JPG)
Despite the Tenth Fleet and Admiralty assessments, the U.S. military and government remained concerned that Germany would conduct vengeance attacks against East Coast cities. In early November 1944, the
Eastern Sea Frontier
The Eastern Sea Frontier (EASTSEAFRON) was a United States Navy operational command during World War II, that was responsible for the coastal waters from Canada to Jacksonville, Florida, extending out for a nominal distance of two hundred miles. T ...
mounted an intensive search for submarines within of New York City. In late December 1944, the spies
William Curtis Colepaugh and
Erich Gimpel Erich Gimpel (25 March 1910 in Merseburg – 3 September 2010 in São Paulo) was a German spy during World War II. Together with William Colepaugh, he took part in Operation Elster ("Magpie") an espionage mission to the United States in 1944, but wa ...
, who had been captured in New York City after being landed by in Maine, told their interrogators that Germany was preparing a group of rocket-equipped submarines. On 10 December, the
Mayor of New York City
The mayor of New York City, officially Mayor of the City of New York, is head of the executive branch of the government of New York City and the chief executive of New York City. The mayor's office administers all city services, public property ...
,
Fiorello La Guardia
Fiorello Henry LaGuardia (; born Fiorello Enrico LaGuardia, ; December 11, 1882September 20, 1947) was an American attorney and politician who represented New York in the House of Representatives and served as the 99th Mayor of New York City fro ...
, publicly warned that Germany was considering an attack on New York with long-range rockets. La Guardia's warning and the claims made by the captured spies received considerable media coverage. Despite this, the
Department of War, which was dominated by the
United States Army
The United States Army (USA) is the land service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army of the United States in the U.S. Constitution.Article II, section 2, cla ...
, advised President
Franklin D. Roosevelt
Franklin Delano Roosevelt (; ; January 30, 1882April 12, 1945), often referred to by his initials FDR, was an American politician and attorney who served as the 32nd president of the United States from 1933 until his death in 1945. As the ...
on 11 December that the threat of missile attack was so low that it did not justify the diversion of resources from other tasks. This assessment was not supported by the U.S. Navy.
In response to the perceived threat, the
U.S. Atlantic Fleet prepared a plan to defend the east coast from attacks by aerial raiders and missiles. This plan was originally code-named Operation Bumblebee, and later renamed Operation Teardrop. Completed on 6 January 1945, the plan involved U.S. Navy anti-submarine forces as well as
United States Army Air Forces
The United States Army Air Forces (USAAF or AAF) was the major land-based aerial warfare service component of the United States Army and ''de facto'' aerial warfare service branch of the United States during and immediately after World War II ...
and Army units, which were responsible for shooting down attacking aircraft and missiles. The centerpiece of the plan was the formation of two large naval task forces to operate in the mid-Atlantic as a barrier against submarines approaching the east coast. These task forces were formed from several existing escort carrier groups, and used
Naval Station Argentia, Newfoundland, as their forward operating base. As well as guarding against missile attacks, these large forces were tasked with countering the new and high-performance
Type XXI submarine
Type XXI submarines were a class of German diesel–electric ''Elektroboot'' (German: "electric boat") submarines designed during the Second World War. One hundred and eighteen were completed, with four being combat-ready. During the war only tw ...
s if they began operating in the central Atlantic. The Atlantic Fleet's commander, Vice Admiral
Jonas H. Ingram
Admiral (United States), Admiral Jonas Howard Ingram (October 15, 1886 – September 9, 1952) was an officer in the United States Navy during World War I and World War II. He commanded the United States Atlantic Fleet during World War II and was ...
, gave a press conference on 8 January in which he warned there was a threat of missile attack and announced that a large force had been assembled to counter seaborne missile launchers.
In January 1945, German Minister of Armaments and War Production
Albert Speer
Berthold Konrad Hermann Albert Speer (; ; 19 March 1905 – 1 September 1981) was a German architect who served as the Minister of Armaments and War Production in Nazi Germany during most of World War II. A close ally of Adolf Hitler, he ...
made a propaganda broadcast in which he claimed that V-1 and V-2s "would fall on New York by February 1, 1945", increasing the U.S. Government's concern over the threat of attack. However, the Germans had no ability to fire missiles from their submarines, as both attempts to develop submarine-launched rockets ended in failure. In June 1942, was used to trial small and short-ranged artillery rockets which could be fired while submerged. Development of this system ended in early 1943, as it was found to decrease the U-boats' seaworthiness. The German military also began the development of a U-boat-towed launch canister for the
V-2
The V-2 (german: Vergeltungswaffe 2, lit=Retaliation Weapon 2), with the technical name ''Aggregat 4'' (A-4), was the world’s first long-range guided ballistic missile. The missile, powered by a liquid-propellant rocket engine, was develope ...
ballistic missile in November 1944. Once complete, these canisters were to be towed to a position off the United States east coast and be used to attack New York. Vulkan Docks in
Stettin
Szczecin (, , german: Stettin ; sv, Stettin ; Latin language, Latin: ''Sedinum'' or ''Stetinum'') is the capital city, capital and largest city of the West Pomeranian Voivodeship in northwestern Poland. Located near the Baltic Sea and the Po ...
was contracted to build a prototype in March or April 1945, but little work took place before Germany's final collapse. It is unlikely that the system would have been successful if it had been completed.
Battle
Initial deployments
![USS Croatan USN photo](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/c9/USS_Croatan_USN_photo.jpg)
Nine Type IX U-boats were dispatched from Norway to patrol off Canada and the United States in March 1945 and attack shipping. The purpose of this deployment was to divert Allied anti-submarine forces away from the coastal waters of the United Kingdom. These waters were the main operational area for German submarines in early 1945, but heavy casualties had forced the German navy to break off operations in late March. On 12 April, , , , , , and were designated "''
Gruppe Seewolf''" ("Group Seawolf") and ordered to attack shipping from New York southwards. The remaining two boats, and , were directed to Canadian waters.
The Allies were aware of this force's departure and destination through information gathered from
Enigma
Enigma may refer to:
*Riddle, someone or something that is mysterious or puzzling
Biology
*ENIGMA, a class of gene in the LIM domain
Computing and technology
* Enigma (company), a New York-based data-technology startup
* Enigma machine, a family ...
decrypts. Vice Admiral Ingram and the U.S. Tenth Fleet concluded that the boats in Group Seewolf were carrying V-1s and launched ''Teardrop'' in response. The ships of the First Barrier Force, which comprised
escort carrier
The escort carrier or escort aircraft carrier (U.S. hull classification symbol CVE), also called a "jeep carrier" or "baby flattop" in the United States Navy (USN) or "Woolworth Carrier" by the Royal Navy, was a small and slow type of aircraft ...
s and and 20 destroyer escorts, sortied from
Hampton Roads
Hampton Roads is the name of both a body of water in the United States that serves as a wide channel for the James River, James, Nansemond River, Nansemond and Elizabeth River (Virginia), Elizabeth rivers between Old Point Comfort and Sewell's ...
between 25 and 27 March, proceeded to Argentia to refuel and assembled east of
Cape Race
Cape Race is a point of land located at the southeastern tip of the Avalon Peninsula on the island of Newfoundland, in Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada. Its name is thought to come from the original Portuguese name for this cape, "Raso", mea ...
on 11 April. Twelve of the destroyer escorts deployed into a line long while the two carriers, each protected by four destroyer escorts, sailed to the west of the line. The carriers' air operations were, however, greatly hindered by heavy seas. The rough weather also forced the cancellation of planned memorial services for President Roosevelt after his death on 12 April.
As it sailed west, Group Seewolf was ordered to attack shipping by
U-boat Command. The boats found no targets, however, as the Allies had routed convoys to the south to avoid the submarines and severe weather. The German submarines began to reach their initial stations east of the
Grand Banks of Newfoundland
The Grand Banks of Newfoundland are a series of underwater plateaus south-east of the island of Newfoundland on the North American continental shelf. The Grand Banks are one of the world's richest fishing grounds, supporting Atlantic cod, swordf ...
on 8 April. U-Boat Command assigned Group Seewolf 12 different scouting lines between 2 and 19 April. The radio signals directing these deployments were decrypted by the Allies, providing them with accurate information on where the boats were operating.
First Barrier Force actions
Just before midnight on 15 April, made radar contact with ''U-1235'' at a position about north of
Flores Island. She immediately attacked the submarine with her
hedgehog
A hedgehog is a spiny mammal of the subfamily Erinaceinae, in the eulipotyphlan family Erinaceidae. There are seventeen species of hedgehog in five genera found throughout parts of Europe, Asia, and Africa, and in New Zealand by introducti ...
anti-submarine mortar, but the submarine submerged and escaped. Assisted by , ''Stanton'' quickly gained sonar contact with the submarine and made three more hedgehog attacks. The third attack, which was conducted at 00:33 on 16 April, sank the submarine with the loss of her entire crew. Shortly afterwards ''Frost'' detected ''U-880'' by radar as she attempted to flee the area on the surface. After illuminating the submarine with
star shell
A shell, in a military context, is a projectile whose payload contains an explosive, incendiary, or other chemical filling. Originally it was called a bombshell, but "shell" has come to be unambiguous in a military context. Modern usage so ...
and spotlights, the destroyer escort opened fire on her with
Bofors 40 mm Bofors 40 mm gun is a name or designation given to two models of 40 mm calibre anti-aircraft guns designed and developed by the Swedish company Bofors:
*Bofors 40 mm L/60 gun - developed in the 1930s, widely used in World War II and into the 1990s
...
guns from a range of at 02:09. ''U-880'' quickly submerged but was tracked by ''Stanton''s and ''Frost''s sonar operators. The two American ships made several hedgehog attacks on the submarine, with ''Stanton'' sinking her with no survivors at 04:04. Both submarines suffered huge explosions after being struck by hedgehog projectiles. This further raised the fear that they were carrying rockets and motivated the First Barrier Force to intensify its efforts to destroy the remaining U-boats.
The First Barrier Force maneuvered south westward following the destruction of ''U-1235'' and ''U-880''.
Leigh Light-equipped
B-24 Liberator
The Consolidated B-24 Liberator is an American heavy bomber, designed by Consolidated Aircraft of San Diego, California. It was known within the company as the Model 32, and some initial production aircraft were laid down as export models des ...
s from
VPB-114 spotted ''U-805'' on the surface during the nights of 18–19 April. The submarine was only from ''Mission Bay'' and her escorts, but was not attacked as the aircraft could not confirm whether she was hostile before she submerged. On the night of 20 April, ''U-546'' attempted to torpedo a U.S. destroyer escort, but missed. The following night, ''U-805'' was detected by , but escaped after being depth charged by ''Mosley'', and for two hours.
The First Barrier Force scored its final success on the night of 21–22 April. Just before midnight, detected ''U-518'' with sonar. joined her and made the initial hedgehog attack on the submarine. Following this, ''Carter'' made her own hedgehog run, which sank ''U-518'' with no survivors. By this time, the First Barrier Force was returning to Argentia, after the Second Barrier Force had relieved it.
Even though ''Teardrop'' was undertaken in the part of the North Atlantic for which Canada had primary responsibility, Ingram did not seek assistance from the
Royal Canadian Navy
The Royal Canadian Navy (RCN; french: Marine royale canadienne, ''MRC'') is the Navy, naval force of Canada. The RCN is one of three environmental commands within the Canadian Armed Forces. As of 2021, the RCN operates 12 frigates, four attack s ...
(RCN) at any stage of the engagement. Moreover, Ingram did not provide the Canadian military with a situation report until after the sinking of ''U-518''. However, aircraft of the
Royal Canadian Air Force
The Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF; french: Aviation royale canadienne, ARC) is the air and space force of Canada. Its role is to "provide the Canadian Forces with relevant, responsive and effective airpower". The RCAF is one of three environm ...
(RCAF) flew offensive patrols in support of the American effort, and the RCN and RCAF intensified their patrols of inshore waters around
Halifax.
Second Barrier Force actions
The Second Barrier Force comprised escort carriers and and 22 destroyer escorts. ''Bogue'' and 10 destroyer escorts had sailed from
Quonset
Quonset may refer to:
Places
* Quonset Point, a peninsula in North Kingstown, Rhode Island
** Naval Air Station Quonset Point
** Quonset State Airport
** Rhode Island Route 403, signed as Quonset Freeway
* Quonset Glacier, a glacier in Antar ...
on 16 April, while ''Core'' and 12 destroyer escorts sailed from
Bermuda
)
, anthem = "God Save the King"
, song_type = National song
, song = " Hail to Bermuda"
, image_map =
, map_caption =
, image_map2 =
, mapsize2 =
, map_caption2 =
, subdivision_type = Sovereign state
, subdivision_name =
, e ...
and other locations. The force was initially stationed along the
45th meridian in a patrol line long, and sailed towards the east. This line was made up of 14 destroyer escorts sailing at intervals, with ''Core'' and her four escorts at its northern end and ''Bogue'' and her four escorts at the southern end.
On the night of 22–23 April, U-boat Command dissolved Group Seewolf and directed the three surviving boats to take up stations between New York and Halifax. Shortly afterwards, , and , which had been operating separately, were also ordered to positions between New York and
Cape Hatteras
Cape Hatteras is a cape located at a pronounced bend in Hatteras Island, one of the barrier islands of North Carolina.
Long stretches of beach, sand dunes, marshes, and maritime forests create a unique environment where wind and waves shape ...
. Radio signals directing these deployments were decrypted by Allied code breakers and increased fears that the submarines were trying to attack American cities.
The Second Barrier Force encountered its first U-boat on 23 April when a
Grumman TBF Avenger
The Grumman TBF Avenger (designated TBM for aircraft manufactured by General Motors) is an American World War II-era torpedo bomber developed initially for the United States Navy and Marine Corps, and eventually used by several air and naval av ...
from VC-19 sighted ''U-881'' about north west of ''Bogue'' just after noon. The aircraft dropped depth charges, but did not seriously damage the submarine. This was the first attack made by an aircraft during ''Teardrop''.
![Capt Just USS Bogue](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/1c/Capt_Just_USS_Bogue.jpg)
The next day, sighted ''Core'' and maneuvered to attack the escort carrier. She attempted to pass through the barrier line but was detected by at 08:30, which immediately prepared to attack the submarine. After realizing that his boat had been detected ''U-546''s commander, ''Kapitänleutnant'' Paul Just, fired a
T-5 acoustic torpedo at the destroyer escort from a range of . ''Frederick C. Davis''
Foxer decoy was not effective, and the torpedo struck her forward engine room at 0835. She sank five minutes later with the loss of 126 of her 192 crewmen. Eight American destroyer escorts subsequently
hunted ''U-546'' for almost 10 hours, before severely damaged her with a hedgehog salvo. The submarine immediately surfaced, but sank after ''Flaherty'' and three or four other destroyer escorts fired at it. ''Kapitänleutnant'' Just and 32 other crewmen survived the sinking and were taken prisoner.
Some of ''U-546''s survivors were harshly treated in an attempt to force them to divulge whether the submarines bound for the U.S. east coast were carrying missiles. After brief interviews on board ''Bogue'', the survivors were transferred to the U.S. base at Argentia. Upon arrival on 27 April, the prisoners were screened for interrogation, with eight specialists being separated from the other 25 survivors, who were then sent to
prisoner of war
A prisoner of war (POW) is a person who is held captive by a belligerent power during or immediately after an armed conflict. The earliest recorded usage of the phrase "prisoner of war" dates back to 1610.
Belligerents hold prisoners of wa ...
camps. The specialists were held in solitary confinement and subjected to "shock interrogation" techniques, exhausting physical exercise and beatings. On 30 April, ''Kapitänleutnant'' Just provided brief information on Group Seewolf's composition and mission following a second interview in which he collapsed unconscious. The information provided by Just and the other specialists did not mention whether the submarines were equipped with missiles. The eight men were transferred to
Fort Hunt, Virginia
Fort Hunt is a census-designated place (CDP) in Fairfax County, Virginia, United States. The area is named after Fort Hunt, which was built on the bank of the Potomac River in 1897 to defend Washington, D.C. from naval attack and is now a public ...
shortly after
VE Day
Victory in Europe Day is the day celebrating the formal acceptance by the Allies of World War II of Germany's unconditional surrender of its armed forces on Tuesday, 8 May 1945, marking the official end of World War II in Europe in the Easter ...
, where they continued to be harshly treated until Just agreed to write an account of ''U-546''s history on 12 May. Historian
Philip K. Lundeberg has written that the beating and torture of ''U-546''s survivors was a "singular atrocity" motivated by the interrogators' need to promptly extract information on potential missile attacks.
The Second Barrier Force slowly moved south west from 24 April, searching for the remaining U-boats. made radar contact with a submarine on the night of 24 April, but it escaped during the resulting search. After a week of searching south of the Newfoundland Banks, the barrier force was split on 2 May to provide greater depth. The ''Mission Bay'' group reinforced the Second Barrier Force during this period, bringing its strength to three escort carriers and thirty one destroyer escorts.
''U-881'' became the fifth and final U-boat to be sunk during ''Teardrop'' on 5 May. The boat was detected while attempting to pass submerged through the barrier line by shortly before daybreak. The destroyer escort immediately turned to starboard and dropped depth charges, which sank the submarine with no survivors at 0616. ''U-881'' was the last German submarine to be sunk by the U.S. Navy during World War II.
The Second Barrier Force established its final barrier line along the
60th meridian on 7 May. Following the
end of World War II in Europe
The final battle of the European Theatre of World War II continued after the definitive overall surrender of Nazi Germany to the Allies, signed by Field marshal Wilhelm Keitel on 8 May 1945 in Karlshorst, Berlin. After German dictator Adolf H ...
that day, it accepted the surrender of , ''U-805'', ''U-858'' and at sea before returning to bases on the U.S. east coast.
Aftermath
![USS Cusk;0834807](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/cf/USS_Cusk%3B0834807.jpg)
After the German surrender the U.S. Navy continued its efforts to determine whether the U-boats had carried missiles. The crews of ''U-805'' and ''U-858'' were interrogated and confirmed that their boats were not fitted with missile launching equipment. ''Kapitänleutnant'' Fritz Steinhoff, who had commanded ''U-511'' during her rocket trials and was captured at sea when he surrendered , was subjected to an abusive interrogation at Portsmouth by the interviewers of ''U-546''s crew. An official Navy investigation was held into this interrogation after Steinhoff committed suicide at
Charles Street Jail
The Charles Street Jail (built 1851), also known as the Suffolk County Jail, is an infamous former jail (later renovated into a luxury hotel) located at 215 Charles Street, Boston, Massachusetts. It is listed in the state and national Registers o ...
in
Boston
Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the state capital and most populous city of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financial center of the New England region of the United States. It is the 24th- mo ...
shortly afterwards.
It is not known if the Allies were aware of Steinhoff's involvement in the rocket trials.
The tactics used in ''Teardrop'' were evaluated by U.S. Navy officers after the war. The escort carriers' air wings were disappointed with their experience, as their ability to detect submarines was hampered by severe weather throughout the operation. Despite this, the aircraft were successful in forcing the U-boats to remain submerged, thereby greatly slowing their speed. Other after action reports stressed the importance of teamwork between destroyer escorts when attacking submarines and argued that single barrier lines such as those used throughout most of ''Teardrop'' were inferior to grouping ships in assigned patrol areas. Nevertheless,
Philip K. Lundeberg has assessed the operation as "a classic demonstration not only of coordinated hunter tactics, derived in part from British experience, but also of the profound impact of communications intelligence in the interdiction of U-boat transit and operating areas." Similarly, the British official history of the role intelligence played in World War II noted that information obtained from decrypted German radio transmissions contributed to "virtually all" of the sinkings during ''Teardrop''.
A variant of the V-1 was used by the U.S. Navy to test the feasibility of launching missiles from submarines in the years after World War II.
Republic‐Ford JB‐2 "Loon" missiles were launched from and in a series of tests which began on February 12, 1947. These tests were successful, and led to the development of further
submarine-launched cruise missiles
A submarine-launched cruise missile (SLCM) is a cruise missile that is launched from a submarine (especially a SSG or SSGN). Current versions are typically standoff weapons known as land-attack cruise missiles (LACMs), which are used to attack p ...
. The U.S. Navy's success in adapting a variant of the V-1 to be launched from submarines also demonstrated that it would have been technically feasible for the German navy to have done the same.
References
Footnotes
Sources
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External links
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Teardrop, Operation
Conflicts in 1945
Battle of the Atlantic
Naval battles of World War II involving Germany
Naval battles of World War II involving the United States
April 1945 events
May 1945 events