| Wolfpack Borkum | |
|---|---|
| Active | 18 December 1943 - 3 January 1944 |
| Country |  Nazi Germany |
| Branch | Kriegsmarine |
| Size | 17 submarines |
| Commanders | |
| Notable commanders | Karl-Heinz Marbach Heinrich Schroeteler |
Borkum was a wolf pack of German U-boats that operated during the battle of the Atlantic in World War II.
Borkum was formed in December 1943 off the coast of Portugal, to intercept convoys sailing to and from Gibraltar, Mediterranean and South Atlantic. It was composed of U-boats from the disbanded patrol group Weddigen, with reinforcements from bases in occupied France.
Borkum was first detailed to assist the passage of blockade runners Osorno and Alsterufer which were returning to base. A surface force was also involved in this operation, code-named Bernau. Allied intelligence was aware of this and deployed forces against them. [1] In the ensuing actions Borkum boats U-305 and U-415 attacked escort carrier Card, without success, while two destroyers were sunk; Leary by U-275 and Hurricane by U-415. U-645 was destroyed by destroyer Schenck [2] and the Bernau force lost a destroyer and two torpedo boats. The blockade runners were also lost. The Borkum boats assisted in picking up survivors.
In January 1944 Borkum was reinforced by new U-boats, while a number of the original group returned to base. These came under air attack crossing the Bay of Biscay, and three, U-107, U-275 and U-541 were damaged.
The renewed Borkum group, of eight U-boats, was re-organized into three patrol lines to intercept an expected north-bound convoy (MKS 35). However MKS 35 had joined with SL 144 and a US hunter-killer group, centred on the carrier Block Island, while in the same period a south-bound convoy OS 64/KMS 38 passed through the same area.
In a series of actions U-305 sank the frigate HMS Tweed, escorting the south-bound convoy, while U-270 shot down a patrol aircraft, but three U-boats, U-270, U-382 and U-758 were damaged and forced to return. U-953 was subjected to a 13-hour hunt, but eventually escaped.
On 11 January, the Befehlshaber der U-Boote, the supreme commander of the German Navy's U-boat arm, disbanded Borkum; U-953 was sent on a solo patrol in the South Atlantic, which was successful, returning in February 1944. The remaining four boats were sent to reinforce group Rügen in the North Atlantic. None of these U-boats survived. U-377 was lost without a trace, [3] while U-231 and U-305 were destroyed in transit. [3] [4] U-641 joined Rügen but was destroyed in an encounter with the corvette HMS Violet. [4]
Borkum was named after the island of Borkum off the German North Sea coast.
HMS Starling, pennant number U66, was a Modified Black Swan-class sloop of the Royal Navy. She was active in the Battle of the Atlantic during the Second World War and was the most successful anti-submarine warfare vessel of the Royal Navy, being credited with the destruction of fourteen U-boats.
Operation Stonewall was an Allied naval and air operation in the Second World War from 26 to 27 December 1943, to intercept blockade-runners sailing to German-occupied France through the Bay of Biscay. Operations Barrier and Freecar, by the Allied navies and the Brazilian Air Force, had taken place in the south- and mid-Atlantic. The ships were tracked by OP-20-G and British code-breakers, which decrypted Japanese machine cyphers and German Enigma machine transmissions to U-boats and blockade-runners.
During the Battle of the Atlantic, British merchant shipping was formed into convoys for protection against German submarine attack. In March 1943 convoys HX 229 and SC 122 were the focus of the largest convoy battle of the war. Kriegsmarine tactics against convoys employed multiple-submarine wolfpack tactics in nearly simultaneous surface attacks at night. Patrolling aircraft restricted the ability of submarines to converge on convoys during daylight. The North Atlantic winters offered the longest periods of darkness to conceal surfaced submarine operations. The winter of 1942–43 saw the largest number of submarines deployed to the mid-Atlantic before comprehensive anti-submarine aircraft patrols could be extended into that area.
Convoy SC 130 was a North Atlantic convoy which ran during the battle of the Atlantic in World War II. It was the 130th of the numbered series of Slow Convoys of merchant ships from Sydney, Cape Breton Island to Liverpool. SC 130 was one of several convoy battles that occurred during the crisis month of May 1943.
ONS 18 and ON 202 were North Atlantic convoys of the ONS/ON series which ran during the battle of the Atlantic in World War II. They were the subject of a major U-boat attack in September 1943, the first battle in the Kriegsmarine's autumn offensive, following the withdrawal from the North Atlantic route after Black May.
SC 143 was a North Atlantic convoy of the SC series which ran during the battle of the Atlantic in World War II. It was the second battle in the Kriegsmarine's autumn offensive in the North Atlantic.
ONS 20 and ON 206 were North Atlantic convoys of the ONS/ON series which ran during the battle of the Atlantic in World War II. They were the subject of a major U-boat attack in October 1943, the third battle in the Kriegsmarine's autumn offensive.
HX 228 was a North Atlantic convoy of the HX series which ran during the Battle of the Atlantic in World War II. It was one of a series of four convoy battles that occurred during the crisis month of March 1943 and is notable for the loss of the Escort Group leader Commander AA "Harry" Tait.
ON 207 was a North Atlantic convoy of the ONS/ON series which ran during the Battle of the Atlantic in World War II. It was the subject of a major U-boat attack in October 1943, the fourth battle in the German autumn offensive.
U-230 was a Type VIIC U-boat built for Nazi Germany's navy (Kriegsmarine) for service during World War II.
Convoys SL 138/MKS 28 were two Allied convoys which ran during the Battle of the Atlantic in World War II. SL 138 was one of the SL convoys from the South Atlantic to Britain, and MKS 28 one of the MKS convoys between Britain and the Mediterranean. They were sailing together on the Gibraltar homeward route, having made a rendezvous off Gibraltar in order to cross the Bay of Biscay with the maximum possible escort. They were the subject of a major U-boat attack in October 1943, the first battle in the Kriegsmarine's renewed Autumn offensive.
Convoys SL 139/MKS 30 were two Allied convoys which ran during the Battle of the Atlantic in World War II. SL 139 was one of the SL convoys from the South Atlantic to Britain, and MKS 30 one of the MKS convoys between Britain and the Mediterranean. They were sailing together on the Gibraltar homeward route, having made a rendezvous off Gibraltar in November 1943. They were the subject of a major U-boat attack, as part of the Kriegsmarine's renewed Autumn offensive.
Convoys SL 140/MKS 31 was a combined Allied convoy which ran during the Battle of the Atlantic in World War II, sailing to Britain in November 1943. SL convoys originated in Freetown, Sierra Leone, with their destination Liverpool and other ports in Britain. This was the 140th convoy to make that trip in WWII. SL 140 was composed of merchant ships bringing raw materials to the UK from various parts of the world. MKS was the designation for convoys from the Mediterranean to Britain. MK indicated ‘Mediterranean to the UK'. More than 100 MK convoys operated during the war. The S in this acronym specified ‘slow.’ This was a slow convoy, since it included thirteen LSTs, which had a top speed of about 10 knots. The LSTs and the additional landing craft they carried would be vital for the upcoming invasion of northern France.
Schill was a wolfpack of German U-boats that operated during the battle of the Atlantic in World War II.
Weddigen was a wolfpack of German U-boats that operated during the battle of the Atlantic in World War II.
Convoy JW 58 was an Arctic convoy sent from Great Britain by the Western Allies to aid the Soviet Union during World War II. It sailed in March 1944, reaching the Soviet northern ports in early April. All ships arrived safely. JW 58 was attacked by German U-boat and aircraft but suffered no losses. Three U-boats were destroyed and six aircraft were shot down during these operations.
SC 129 was a North Atlantic convoy of the SC series which ran during the Battle of the Atlantic in World War II. It was one of several convoy battles that occurred during the crisis month of May 1943.
HMS Rochester (L50) was a Shoreham-class sloop of the Royal Navy. She served during the Second World War and was a successful anti-submarine warfare vessel, being credited with the destruction of five U-boats.
SL convoys were a numbered series of North Atlantic trade convoys during the Second World War. Merchant ships carrying commodities bound to the British Isles from South America, Africa, and the Indian Ocean traveled independently to Freetown, Sierra Leone to be convoyed for the last leg of their voyage to Liverpool.
The Gibraltar convoys of World War II were oceangoing trade convoys of merchant ships sailing between Gibraltar and the United Kingdom. Gibraltar convoy routes crossed U-boat transit routes from French Atlantic ports and were within range of Axis maritime patrol aircraft making these convoys vulnerable to observation and interception by bombers, submarines, and surface warships during the Battle of the Atlantic. OG convoys brought supplies from the United Kingdom to Gibraltar from September 1939 until September 1942. Beginning with Operation Torch, OG convoys were replaced by KM convoys transporting military personnel and supplies from the United Kingdom to and past Gibraltar into the Mediterranean Sea. HG convoys brought food, raw materials, and later empty ships from Gibraltar to the United Kingdom from September 1939 until September 1942. After Operation Torch, HG convoys were replaced by MK convoys returning mostly empty ships from the Mediterranean to the United Kingdom. KM and MK convoys ended in 1945.