''Schill'' 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
**Ge ...
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 during the
battle of the Atlantic 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 ...
.
Service history
Following the resumption of the assault on the Atlantic convoy routes in the autumn of 1943, U-boat Control (''
Befehlshaber der Unterseeboote'') (BdU) switched the focus of the campaign in October to the Mid-Atlantic and South Atlantic routes. To this end it established the
wolfpack ''Schill'' off the coast of
Portugal
Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic ( pt, República Portuguesa, links=yes ), is a country whose mainland is located on the Iberian Peninsula of Southwestern Europe, and whose territory also includes the Atlantic archipelagos of ...
, to intercept convoys sailing to and from Gibraltar, Mediterranean and South Atlantic.
''Schill'' comprised ten U-boats, and commenced operations on 25 October. Its first action was against home-bound
convoy SL 138/MKS 28. During this assault the freighter ''Hallfried'' was sunk by ''U-262'' on 29 October; however ''U-306'' was sunk by convoy escorts ''Whitehall'' and ''Geranium'' on 31 October.
Following this attack, ''Schill'' remained on patrol, but had no further successes. On 9 November, ''U-707'' was caught and sunk by Allied aircraft, a
B-17
The Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress is a four-engined heavy bomber developed in the 1930s for the United States Army Air Corps (USAAC). Relatively fast and high-flying for a bomber of its era, the B-17 was used primarily in the European Theater ...
of 220 Squadron.
On 16 November ''Schill'' was reinforced and re-organized into three groups. The first, ''Schill 1'', of eight U-boats, was the southernmost rake, running in a line to the west of
Lisbon.
The second, ''Schill 2'', of nine U-boats, was aligned west of
Cape Finisterre in
Spain
, image_flag = Bandera de España.svg
, image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg
, national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond")
, national_anthem = (English: "Royal March")
, i ...
, while the third, ''Schill 3'', of nine U-boats, was north of this, roughly along the
45th parallel.
On 18 November U-boats of ''Schill 1'' opened the attack on
convoy SL 139/MKS 30; over the next three days the boats of all three ''Schill'' groups were involved with three U-boats destroyed. On 18 November ''U-211'' was sunk by a
Wellington
Wellington ( mi, Te Whanganui-a-Tara or ) is the capital city of New Zealand. It is located at the south-western tip of the North Island, between Cook Strait and the Remutaka Range. Wellington is the second-largest city in New Zealand by metr ...
, and on the 19th ''U-536'' by ''Nene'' and ''Snowberry''. On the 21st ''U-538'', en route from the North Atlantic to join ''Schill'' was caught and sunk by escorts ''Foley'' and ''Crane''. Two aircraft were shot down on 20 November; a
Liberator by ''U-648'' and a
Sunderland by ''U-618'', but no ships were sunk from the convoy.
With the end of the convoy battle on 22 November the ''Schill'' groups were disbanded; a number returned to base, while a cadre remained to form a new patrol line, code-named ''Weddigen''.
U-boats involved
(25 October-16 November 1943)
Schill
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* sunk 31 October 1943
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* sunk 9 November 1943
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(16–22 November 1943)
Schill 1
* sunk 18 November 1943
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( sunk 21 Nov. en route to join)
Schill 2
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* sunk 19 November 1943
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*
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*
Schill 3
*
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Notes
References
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External links
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Schill
Wolfpacks of 1943