''Weddigen'' 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 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
''Weddigen'' was formed in November 1943 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
)
, anthem = " God Save the King"
, song = " Gibraltar Anthem"
, image_map = Gibraltar location in Europe.svg
, map_alt = Location of Gibraltar in Europe
, map_caption = United Kingdom shown in pale green
, mapsize =
, image_map2 = Gib ...
,
Mediterranean
The Mediterranean Sea is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by the Mediterranean Basin and almost completely enclosed by land: on the north by Western Europe, Western and Southern Europe and Anatolia, on the south by North Africa ...
and
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 ...
. It was composed of U-boats from the disbanded patrol group
''Schill'', with reinforcements from the North Atlantic and from bases in occupied France.
''Weddigen'' originally numbered seventeen U-boats, though two had been destroyed in recent actions, and two others had to withdraw with damage. On 22 November the thirteen U-boats remaining formed a patrol line west of Portugal to await warning of an Allied convoy.
On 23 November one of the ''Weddigen'' boats, , fell in with the frigate , of 4th Escort Group accompanying KMS 30 and was destroyed. On 25 November also fell in with KMS 30, and was attacked by ''Blackwood'' and , and was destroyed by them.
On 27 November the ''Weddigen'' boats intercepted
convoy SL 140/MKS 31, and attacked it over the next five days, though without success. On 29 November was destroyed by aircraft from the carrier , while on 28th
[Kemp p160] and had been attacked and damaged, also by aircraft from ''Bogue''.
On 7 December ''Weddigen'' was disbanded, a number of U-boats returning to base, while others formed a cadre of a new patrol group, code-named
''Borkum''.
U-boats involved
* sunk 29 November 1943
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
* sunk 28 November 1943
*
* sunk 25 November 1943
*
* sunk 23 November 1943
*
*
*
*
The name
''Weddigen'' was named for
Otto Weddigen, German
World War I
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 ...
U-boat ace.
Notes
References
*
* Jak P M Showell ''U-Boat Warfare: The Evolution of the Wolf-Pack'' (2002)
External links
{{DEFAULTSORT:Weddigen
Wolfpacks of 1943
1943 establishments in Germany