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U-boats
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1939
September
03
The sinking of the Athenia
On the evening of 3 September 1939 U-30 torpedoed the British liner Athenia without warning, with over 1,400 people aboard. Between 112 and 117 died.
06
The Admiralty introduces convoys
On 6 September 1939 the first British convoys and the Northern Patrol set out. A day earlier U-47 had sunk the freighter Bosnia, the first of its kind.
08
Germany mines British waters
In September 1939 U-boats began secretly laying mines off the British coast, including near Portland. Minesweepers were helpless against the new magnetic mines.
14
The sinking of U-39
On 14 September 1939 U-39 attacked the carrier Ark Royal, but its torpedoes exploded prematurely. Destroyers sank it, the first U-boat lost in the war.
17
The sinking of HMS Courageous
On 17 September 1939 U-29 sank the carrier HMS Courageous west of Ireland; 518 or 519 men died. She was the first Royal Navy warship sunk by the enemy.
24
Dönitz intensifies the U-boat war
On 24 September 1939, at Dönitz's request, U-boats were allowed to sink ships using their radio and to attack French ones – a first step away from prize rules.
October
14
The sinking of HMS Royal Oak
On the night of 13–14 October 1939 Günther Prien’s U-47 slipped into Scapa Flow and sank the battleship Royal Oak. 833 or 835 men were killed.
November
16
Germany extends unrestricted submarine warfare
By mid-November 1939 U-boats had for a month been free to sink enemy ships without warning. Hitler agreed to a further step, but with no official declaration.
December
28
U-30 hits HMS Barham
On 28 December 1939 Lemp’s U-30 torpedoed the battleship HMS Barham off the Hebrides. Two weeks earlier Barham had sunk her own destroyer Duchess in fog.
1940
January
21
The sinking of HMS Exmouth
On 21 January 1940 U-22 sank the destroyer HMS Exmouth in the Moray Firth with all 190 hands. A day earlier U-44 had sunk a Greek ship off Portugal.
February
15
Germany widens the U-boat war
Contrary to popular chronologies, no new order came on 15 February 1940. The zones where U-boats sank even neutral ships unwarned had grown since January.
April
13
The second Battle of Narvik
On 13 April 1940 the battleship Warspite and nine destroyers entered the fjord at Narvik and destroyed the last eight German destroyers there.
August
17
The German blockade of the British Isles
On 17 August 1940 Germany declared a total blockade of the British Isles; any ship in the zone around Britain could be sunk. Italy followed on 20 August.
September
22
The attack on convoy HX 72
On 20–22 September 1940 the U-boats of Kretschmer, Prien and Schepke sank 11 ships of convoy HX 72 from Halifax without losing a single boat.
October
19
The slaughter of convoys SC 7 and HX 79
On 16–20 October 1940 U-boats sank 20 of the 35 ships of slow convoy SC 7 and 12 of the 49 ships of convoy HX 79 without losing a single boat.
1941
February
24
Attacks on convoys OB 288 and OB 290
In the last week of February 1941 U-boats and Fw 200 Condors shattered three convoys sailing from Liverpool to America, sinking more than 20 ships.
March
17
The end of the U-boat aces
On the night of 16–17 March 1941, at convoy HX 112, Joachim Schepke was killed and Otto Kretschmer captured. Ten days earlier Prien had gone missing.
April
04
The attack on convoy SC 26
From 2 to 5 April 1941 a wolf pack south of Iceland sank 10 of the 22–23 ships of convoy SC 26 and torpedoed its sole escort. Some 150 men were killed.
May
09
The capture of U-110
On 9 May 1941 the escort of convoy OB 318 forced U-110 to the surface. The British boarded her and carried off an Enigma machine and secret cipher documents.
21
The sinking of the Robin Moor
On 21 May 1941 U-69 stopped and sank the American freighter Robin Moor far from the war routes. Her survivors spent almost three weeks in the lifeboats.
August
27
The capture of U-570
On 27 August 1941 a British Hudson attacked U-570 south of Iceland. The crew hoisted a white flag, and the boat was towed in and taken into the Royal Navy.
September
04
The USS Greer incident
On 4 September 1941 U-652 fired torpedoes at the US destroyer Greer, which had been tracking it for hours. Both missed, and Roosevelt called it piracy.
October
17
The torpedoing of USS Kearny
On 17 October 1941 U-568 torpedoed the US destroyer Kearny while she was defending convoy SC 48. Eleven sailors were killed; the ship limped to Iceland.
31
The sinking of USS Reuben James
On 31 October 1941 Erich Topp’s U-552 sank the US destroyer Reuben James escorting convoy HX 156. About a hundred men died, including all the officers.
November
13
The sinking of the Ark Royal
On 13 November 1941, returning from a run with fighters for Malta, the carrier Ark Royal was torpedoed by U-81 near Gibraltar. She sank the next day.
25
The sinking of HMS Barham
On 25 November 1941 U-331 torpedoed the battleship Barham off Egypt. She capsized and blew up, and some 860 men were killed.
December
01
The creation of the Civil Air Patrol
On 1 December 1941 La Guardia, head of the Office of Civilian Defense, signed the order creating the Civil Air Patrol to enlist private pilots in US defence.
19
The human torpedo attack on Alexandria
On the night of 18–19 December 1941 Italian frogmen riding human torpedoes disabled the battleships Queen Elizabeth and Valiant in Alexandria harbour.
1942
January
13
Operation Drumbeat (Paukenschlag)
On 13 January 1942 German U-boats began attacking shipping off the US East Coast. An unprepared America gave them their “second happy time”.
April
01
The Bucket Brigade
From 1 April 1942 ships off the US east coast sailed only by day, from anchorage to anchorage. Dönitz then moved his U-boats further south.
14
The sinking of U-85
On the night of 13–14 April 1942 the destroyer Roper sank U-85 off Nags Head. Four days later a dim-out was ordered on the US East Coast.
May
12
The Battle of the St Lawrence begins
On the night of 11–12 May 1942 U-553 sank the Nicoya and the Leto off the Gaspé Peninsula. The U-boat war had reached Canada's inland waters.
22
Mexico declares war on the Axis
After U-boats sank the tankers Potrero del Llano and Faja de Oro, Mexico declared itself at war with Germany, Italy and Japan from 22 May 1942.
July
19
U-boats withdrawn from the US coast
On 19 July 1942 Dönitz recalled the last two U-boats from off Cape Hatteras. Convoys and air patrols had ended the “second happy time” off the US coast.
August
11
The sinking of HMS Eagle
On 11 August 1942 U-73 torpedoed the carrier Eagle, escorting the Pedestal convoy to Malta. She sank within minutes; about 130 men were lost.
22
Brazil declares war on Germany and Italy
After U-507 sank five ships with over 600 dead, Brazil recognised on 22 August 1942 that it was at war with Germany and Italy.
September
12
Key event
The sinking of the Laconia
On 12 September 1942 U-156 sank the troopship Laconia with 1,800 Italian POWs aboard. The rescue that followed ended in Dönitz's Laconia Order.
October
14
The sinking of the Caribou
On 14 October 1942 U-69 sank the ferry Caribou, bound from Sydney to Newfoundland, in the Cabot Strait. 136 or 137 people died, children among them.
1943
January
27
The first American raid on Germany
On 27 January 1943 American bombers attacked Germany for the first time. Of 91 B-17s and B-24s dispatched, 53 bombed Wilhelmshaven and three were lost.
February
09
Bombing raids in February 1943
In February 1943 the RAF razed Lorient, bombed blind with H2S radar successfully for the first time (Wilhelmshaven), and the Americans attacked Emden.
March
09
Operation Creek in Goa
On the night of 9–10 March 1943 volunteers from Calcutta attacked the German ship Ehrenfels in neutral Goa. The crews of four Axis ships scuttled them.
17
Key event
The battle for convoys HX 229 and SC 122
On 16–20 March 1943 some 40 U-boats attacked convoys HX 229 and SC 122 in the Atlantic air gap and sank 22 ships for the loss of one submarine.
April
28
Closing the Atlantic air gap
In spring 1943 the Allies sent long-range Liberators, escort carriers and support groups over the mid-Atlantic. On 28 April U-boats sighted convoy ONS 5.
May
24
Key event
Black May
In May 1943 the U-boats lost 41–43 boats for meagre results. On 24 May Dönitz pulled them out of the North Atlantic – the turning point of the Atlantic battle.
June
13
The raids on Kiel and Bremen
On 13 June 1943 American B-17s bombed the U-boat yards at Kiel and Bremen. The Germans shot down 26 bombers, including 22 of the 76 sent to Kiel.
1944
February
18
The sinking of HMS Penelope
On 18 February 1944 U-410 torpedoed the cruiser Penelope west of Naples as she returned to Anzio. 417 men were killed and 206 survived.
June
04
The capture of U-505
On 4 June 1944 a US carrier group led by USS Guadalcanal forced U-505 to surface off Africa. A boarding party seized the boat, its Enigma and codes.
September
18
The capture of Brest
On 18 September 1944, after a month-long siege, the Americans took ruined Brest. General Ramcke surrendered the next day; the Germans had wrecked the port.
December
24
The sinking of the Leopoldville
On 24 December 1944 U-486 torpedoed the Belgian troopship Leopoldville off Cherbourg. 763 soldiers of the US 66th Infantry Division were killed.
1945
May
04
The end of the U-boat war
On 4 May 1945 Dönitz ordered the U-boats to cease fighting. The day before, the Admiral Hipper had been scuttled at Kiel; crews scuttled over 200 U-boats.