''Blücher'' was a wolfpack of

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) **Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ger ...

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 that operated during the

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 ...

Battle of the Atlantic The Battle of the Atlantic, the longest continuous military campaign in World War II, ran from 1939 to the defeat of Nazi Germany in 1945, covering a major part of the naval history of World War II. At its core was the Allied naval blockade ...

from 14 to 28 August 1942. They attacked the

Freetown Freetown is the capital and largest city of Sierra Leone. It is a major port city on the Atlantic Ocean and is located in the Western Area of the country. Freetown is Sierra Leone's major urban, economic, financial, cultural, educational and p ...

Sierra Leone Sierra Leone,)]. officially the Republic of Sierra Leone, is a country on the southwest coast of West Africa. It is bordered by Liberia to the southeast and Guinea surrounds the northern half of the nation. Covering a total area of , Sierra ...

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convoys SL-118 and SL-119, and sank six ships for a total of , and damaged one (). The group was named after

Gebhard Leberecht von Blücher Gebhard Leberecht von Blücher, Fürst von Wahlstatt (; 21 December 1742 – 12 September 1819), ''Graf'' (count), later elevated to ''Fürst'' (sovereign prince) von Wahlstatt, was a Prussian ''Generalfeldmarschall'' (field marshal). He earned ...

(1742–1819), a

Prussia Prussia, , Old Prussian: ''Prūsa'' or ''Prūsija'' was a German state on the southeast coast of the Baltic Sea. It formed the German Empire under Prussian rule when it united the German states in 1871. It was ''de facto'' dissolved by an em ...

n ''

Generalfeldmarschall ''Generalfeldmarschall'' (from Old High German ''marahscalc'', "marshal, stable master, groom"; en, general field marshal, field marshal general, or field marshal; ; often abbreviated to ''Feldmarschall'') was a rank in the armies of several ...

'' in the

Napoleonic Wars The Napoleonic Wars (1803–1815) were a series of major global conflicts pitting the French Empire and its allies, led by Napoleon I, against a fluctuating array of European states formed into various coalitions. It produced a period of Fren ...

U-boats, commanders and dates

* ,

Peter-Erich Cremer Peter-Erich Cremer (25 March 1911 – 5 July 1992) was a German U-boat commander during the Second World War. He was a recipient of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross of Nazi Germany. Biography Peter-Erich Cremer was born in Metz, Alsace-Lor ...

, 14–18 August * , Gerhard Feiler, 14–18 August * , Heinrich Müller-Edzards, 14–20 August * , Günther Reeder, 14–28 August * , Horst Dieterichs, 14–28 August * , Gerhard Remus, 14–28 August * , Friedrich Mumm, 14–28 August * , Harald Gelhaus, 23–28 August

Ships hit by this Wolfpack

Triton

''U-566'' struck first, while north-east of the

Azores ) , motto =( en, "Rather die free than subjected in peace") , anthem= ( en, "Anthem of the Azores") , image_map=Locator_map_of_Azores_in_EU.svg , map_alt=Location of the Azores within the European Union , map_caption=Location of the Azores wi ...

. At 17:56 on 17 August 1942, she fired three torpedoes at Convoy SL-118, hitting the 6,607-ton Norwegian merchant ship ''Triton'' twice and sinking her. The master, 39 crewmen, two gunners and one passenger abandoned ship, and were picked up by the British merchantman ''Baron Dunmore''.

Cheshire, Hatarana and Balingkar

At 18.52 hours on 18 August, ''U-214'' fired four single torpedoes at Convoy SL-118; and hit three ships. One torpedo damaged the 10,552-ton

armed merchant cruiser An armed merchantman is a merchant ship equipped with guns, usually for defensive purposes, either by design or after the fact. In the days of sail, piracy and privateers, many merchantmen would be routinely armed, especially those engaging in lo ...

HMS ''Cheshire''. Another damaged the 7,522-ton British merchant ship '' Hatarana'' so badly that she was abandoned by her crew of 108 and was scuttled by gunfire from the corvette . The final two torpedoes struck the 6,318-ton Dutch cargo ship ''Balingkar'', sinking her within 15 minutes with the loss of two men from her crew of 93.

''City of Manila''

The next day, 19 August, at 16:22 ''U-406'' torpedoed the 7,452-ton British merchantman ''City of Manila'', which was then abandoned by her crew.

City of Cardiff and Zuiderkerk

At 19:08 on 28 August ''U-566'' fired a spread of three torpedoes at Convoy SL-119 west-north-west of

Lisbon Lisbon (; pt, Lisboa ) is the capital and largest city of Portugal, with an estimated population of 544,851 within its administrative limits in an area of 100.05 km2. Grande Lisboa, Lisbon's urban area extends beyond the city's administr ...

and hit two ships; the 5,661-ton British merchant ship ''City of Cardiff'' and the 8,424-ton Dutch merchant ship ''Zuiderkerk''. The ''Zuiderkerk'' was hit in the bows and was forced to stop to inspect the damage. She then managed to rejoin the convoy, but flooding in her holds forced the 56 crew and 12 passengers to abandon ship early on 29 August. The ship was then sunk with depth charges by . Meanwhile, the badly damaged ''City of Cardiff'' remained afloat, but foundered two days later with the loss of 21 crew.

References

;Notes {{DEFAULTSORT:Blucher Wolfpacks of 1942