Wolfpack Weddigen
{{Short description|German submarine warfare unit}}
Weddigen was a wolfpack of German U-boats that operated during the battle of the Atlantic in World War II.
Service history
Weddigen was formed in November 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 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, {{GS|U-648||2}}, fell in with the frigate {{HMS|Blackwood|K313|6}}, of 4th Escort Group accompanying KMS 30 and was destroyed. On 25 November {{GS|U-600||2}} also fell in with KMS 30, and was attacked by Blackwood and {{HMS|Bazely|K311|2}}, and destroyed.Kemp 1997 p.159
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 {{GS|U-86|1941|2}} was destroyed by aircraft from the carrier {{USS|Bogue|CVE-9|6}}, while on 28th {{GS|U-238||2}}Kemp 1997 p. 160 and {{GS|U-764||2}} 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
| class="wikitable sortable"
|+Wolfpack Weddigen !Name!!Flag!!Commander!!Class!!Notes | |||||
| {{GS|U-86|1941|2}} | {{navy|Nazi Germany}} | Walter Schug | Type VIIC submarine | Sunk 29 November 1943 | |
| {{GS|U-107|1940|2}} | {{navy|Nazi Germany}} | Volker Simmermacher | Type IXB submarine | ||
| {{GS|U-228 | 2}} | {{navy|Nazi Germany}} | Herbert Engel | Type VIIC submarine | |
| {{GS|U-238 | 2}} | {{navy|Nazi Germany}} | Horst Hepp | Type VIIC submarine | |
| {{GS|U-262 | 2}} | {{navy|Nazi Germany}} | Heinz Franke | Type VIIC submarine | |
| {{GS|U-358 | 2}} | {{navy|Nazi Germany}} | Rolf Manke | Type VIIC submarine | |
| {{GS|U-391 | 2}} | {{navy|Nazi Germany}} | Gert Dültgen | Type VIIC submarine | |
| {{GS|U-424 | 2}} | {{navy|Nazi Germany}} | Günter Lüders | Type VIIC submarine | |
| {{GS|U-542 | 2}} | {{navy|Nazi Germany}} | Christian-Brandt Coester | Type IXC submarine | sunk 28 November 1943 |
| {{GS|U-586 | 2}} | {{navy|Nazi Germany}} | Hans Götze | Type VIIC submarine | |
| {{GS|U-600 | 2}} | {{navy|Nazi Germany}} | Bernhard Zurmühlen | Type VIIC submarine | sunk 25 November 1943 |
| {{GS|U-618 | 2}} | {{navy|Nazi Germany}} | Erich Faust | Type VIIC submarine | |
| {{GS|U-648 | 2}} | {{navy|Nazi Germany}} | Peter-Arthur Stahl | Type VIIC submarine | sunk 23 November 1943 |
| {{GS|U-714 | 2}} | {{navy|Nazi Germany}} | Hans-Joachim Schwebcke | Type VIIC submarine | |
| {{GS|U-764 | 2}} | {{navy|Nazi Germany}} | Hanskurt von Bremen | Type VIIC submarine | |
| {{GS|U-843 | 2}} | {{navy|Nazi Germany}} | Oskar Herwartz | Type IXC/40 submarine | |
| {{GS|U-969 | 2}} | {{navy|Nazi Germany}} | Max Dobbert | Type VIIC submarine |
The name
Weddigen was named for Otto Weddigen, German World War I U-boat ace.
Notes
{{reflist}}
References
- {{cite book |last=Kemp |first=Paul |title=U-Boats Destroyed, German submarine losses in the World Wars |publisher=Arms and Armour |year=1997 |isbn=1-85409-515-3 }}
- {{cite book |last=Showell |first=Jak P. M. |title=U-Boat Warfare: The Evolution of the Wolf-Pack |year=2002 |publisher=Naval Institute Press |location=Annapolis, MD |isbn=0-7110-2887-7}}
External links
{{cite web
|url=http://www.uboat.net/ops/wolfpacks/157.html
|title=Weddigen
|last=Helgason
|first=Guðmundur
|website=German U-boats of WWII - uboat.net
}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Weddigen}}