Prien's wolfpack is the name given in some sources to a formation 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

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 ...

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 ...

. It existed from 12 June to 17 June 1940. The group was named for

Kapitänleutnant ''Kapitänleutnant'', short: KptLt/in lists: KL, ( en, captain lieutenant) is an officer grade of the captains' military hierarchy group () of the German Bundeswehr. The rank is rated OF-2 in NATO, and equivalent to Hauptmann in the Heer and ...

Günther Prien Günther Prien (16 January 1908 – presumed 8 March 1941) was a German U-boat commander during World War II. He was the first U-boat commander to receive the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross and the first member of the ''Kriegsmarine'' to r ...

, commander of .

Background

Prior to the Second World War the German Navy‘s

U-boat Arm 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 It superseded the Imperial German Navy of the German Empire (1871–1918) and the inter-war (1919–1935) of the Weimar Republic.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 an ...

, under its leader, Karl Donitz, developed its pack attack, a response to the convoy system that had defeated its war on commerce during the

First World War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

. However, following the outbreak of hostilities its first attempts to use the tactic had been unsuccessful. Thereafter the UBW stuck to conventional patrols and solo attacks until diverted from the trade offensive to the

invasion of Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe, the mainland territory of which comprises the western and northernmost portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and t ...

. With the end of the Norwegian campaign in May 1940, the UBW returned to attacking Britain’s commerce. A further attempt to make the pack attack viable was made in June 1940 with the dispatch of Rosing’s group of five U-boats, against a high-value convoy, US 3, off

Cape Finisterre Cape Finisterre (, also ; gl, Cabo Fisterra, italic=no ; es, Cabo Finisterre, italic=no ) is a rock-bound peninsula on the west coast of Galicia, Spain. In Roman times it was believed to be an end of the known world. The name Finisterre, like ...

Formation

At the beginning of June, a second wave of U-boats was dispatched to operate against Allied shipping. Rohwer, the U-boat historian, lists seven U-boats (''U-25'', ''U-28'', ''U-30'', ''U-32'', ''U-38'', ''U-47'', and ''U-51''), and states they were set up between 12 and 15 June to operate against convoy HX 47, which had been detected by German Naval Intelligence. He refers to them in this as group "Prien". However Blair (another U-boat historian), describes this second wave, of nine U-boats, as a series of individual patrols; mentioning a group of five set as a U-boat trap for ships evacuating troops from Norway, and describing Rosing's pack in detail, he doesn't refer to a "group Prien" at all. Showell lists the seven U-boats mentioned by Rohwer, but calls them a "wolfpack". The online source U-boat.net follows Showell, but gives the dates of operation as 12 to 17 June. As only two boats made contact with HX 47, and they didn't form a pack to make their assault, the term "wolfpack" is a misnomer (and isn't used by most reliable sources at all).

Area of operation

This group was detailed to attack

convoy HX 47 Convoy HX 47 was a North Atlantic convoy of the HX series which ran during the battle of the Atlantic in World War II. It was the 47th of the numbered series of merchant convoys run by the Allies from Halifax to Liverpool. The convoy was attac ...

– en route from Halifax to

Liverpool Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. With a population of in 2019, it is the 10th largest English district by population and its metropolitan area is the fifth largest in the United Kingdom, with a popul ...

. Between 12 and 17 June the U-boats were on passage from the north of Scotland to the

Southwest Approaches The Southwest Approaches is the name given to the offshore waters to the southwest of Great Britain and Ireland. The area includes the Celtic Sea, the Bristol Channel and sea areas off southwest Ireland. The area is bordered on the north by the S ...

. On 14 June two boats (''U-38'' and ''U-47'') made contact with HX 47, south of Ireland in the Atlantic. Attacking separately they sank three ships of the convoy, and another sailing independently. On 13 June ''U-25'' found and sank the

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 ...

''Scotstoun'' in the Northwest Approaches, west of

Skye The Isle of Skye, or simply Skye (; gd, An t-Eilean Sgitheanach or ; sco, Isle o Skye), is the largest and northernmost of the major islands in the Inner Hebrides of Scotland. The island's peninsulas radiate from a mountainous hub dominated b ...

. By 17 June all U-boats were west of the

Bay of Biscay The Bay of Biscay (), known in Spain as the Gulf of Biscay ( es, Golfo de Vizcaya, eu, Bizkaiko Golkoa), and in France and some border regions as the Gulf of Gascony (french: Golfe de Gascogne, oc, Golf de Gasconha, br, Pleg-mor Gwaskogn), ...

Ships hit

They sank five ships for a total of . * HMS ''Scotstoun'': ''U-25'' struck the stern of the armed merchant cruiser with one torpedo on 13 June 1940, approximately west of

Barra Barra (; gd, Barraigh or ; sco, Barra) is an island in the Outer Hebrides, Scotland, and the second southernmost inhabited island there, after the adjacent island of Vatersay to which it is connected by a short causeway. The island is na ...

, Outer Hebrides. The hit didn't sink her, so just 10 hours later a second torpedo hit just aft of the funnel and caused the ship to sink by the stern. Seven crew members were killed. The survivors were picked up by . * ''Balmoralwood'': At 19.44 hours on 14 June 1940 the ''Balmoralwood'', a straggler from convoy HX 47, was hit amidships by one stern torpedo from ''U-47'' and sank after two hours about south-southwest of Cape Clear. The master, 39 crew members and one gunner were picked up by ''Germanic''. * ''Mount Myrto'': At 19.11 hours on 14 June 1940 the ''Mount Myrto'' was shelled by 53 rounds from the surfaced ''U-38''. After the shelling, the U-boat dived and struck the ship with a torpedo, but the ship did not sink due to her load of timber. Liebe decided to break off the attack on the damaged vessel because the convoy HX 47 came in sight. * ''Erik Boye'': On 15 June 1940, in the space of four minutes, ''U-38'' fired torpedoes at and sank both the ''Italia'' and ''Erik Boye'' of convoy HX 47, about W of the

Scilly Isles The Isles of Scilly (; kw, Syllan, ', or ) is an archipelago off the southwestern tip of Cornwall, England. One of the islands, St Agnes, is the most southerly point in Britain, being over further south than the most southerly point of the ...

. The survivors of ''Erik Boye'' were picked up by . * ''Italia'': On 15 June 1940, ''Italia'' was struck by a torpedo near the engine room, killing nearly all the engine crew. The ship finally sank in in shallow waters. The survivors were picked up by HMS ''Fowey''.

Raiding Summary

U-Boats

References

Bibliography

* Blair, Clay (1996) ''Hitler’s U-Boat War'' Vol I Cassell * Rohwer J, Hümmelchen G (1992) ''Chronology of the War at Sea 1939–1945'' Naval Institute Press * JP Mallmann Showell (2002) ''U-Boat Warfare: The Evolution of the Wolfpack'' Ian Allan {{DEFAULTSORT:Prien Wolfpacks of 1940 Wolfpack Prien