Eisbär (

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...

: ''Polar Bear'') was a wolfpack of 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 ro ...

s that operated from 23 to 29 August 1942 in

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 opposing ...

. This pack was assembled to operate in the

South Atlantic 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 ...

off

Cape Town Cape Town ( af, Kaapstad; , xh, iKapa) is one of South Africa's three capital cities, serving as the seat of the Parliament of South Africa. It is the legislative capital of the country, the oldest city in the country, and the second largest ...

which was considered to be virgin waters. Some of the most experienced U-boat commanders available such as Harald Gelhaus,

Werner Hartenstein Werner Hartenstein (27 February 1908 – 8 March 1943) was a German naval officer during World War II who commanded the U-boat . He was a recipient of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross, the highest award in the military and paramilitary ...

and

Carl Emmermann Carl Emmermann (6 March 1915 – 25 March 1990) was a German U-boat commander during World War II. In his time as commander, submarines under his command sank 27 ships for a total tonnage of . Career Emmermann began his naval career in 1934. For ...

were included. They shadowed 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 po ...

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 , Sierr ...

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 populat ...

Convoy SL-119, and sank only one ship for a total of .

U-boats, commanders and dates

* , Karl-Friedrich Merten, 25 August–1 September * ,

, 25 August–1 September * ,

, 25 August–1 September * , Georg von Wilamowitz-Möllendorf, 25 August–1 September * , Hans-Georg Friedrich Poske, 25 August–1 September

Ships hit by this Wolfpack

Clan Macwhirter

At 01:00 on 27 August 1942, the unescorted 5,941-ton British merchant ship , a straggler from Convoy SL-119, was torpedoed and sunk by ''U-156'' north-west of Madeira.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Eisbar Wolfpacks of 1942