Actions of 5–6 May 1945
Actions of 5–6 May 1945 | |||||||
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Part of the Battle of the Atlantic, World War II | |||||||
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Belligerents | |||||||
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Strength | |||||||
Two submarines |
Five warships Two blimps | ||||||
Casualties and losses | |||||||
Two submarines 109 killed |
One merchant ship 12 killed |
The last actions of the Battle of the Atlantic in American waters took place on 5–6 May 1945. There were two such actions, against U-853 off the Rhode Island coast and U-881, south of Cape Race, both sunk during the same period.
Background
US involvement in the Battle of the Atlantic began with the deaths of 28 US citizens during the sinking of the Athenia by U-30, on the first day of the war in the west.
Thereafter US ships were attacked, and US warships involved in action against U-boats while protecting US interests, in the two years before America’s entry into the war. Following
Thereafter the U-boat Arm continued to make offensive patrols against US coastal shipping, while German wolf-packs searched for and attacked convoys in mid-ocean. By 1945 U-Boat actions had reduced to pinpricks, but their potential forced the Allies to maintain large naval and air forces, and expend considerable resources, to counter the threat.
During the first five months of 1945, the U-boat Arm dispatched 19 U-boat patrols to American waters, including seven sailings constituting group
First action
On 5 May,
Second action
Also on 6 May, shortly after day-break, the destroyer escort USS Farquhar — assigned to the Mission Bay hunter-killer group — detected U-881, a Seewolf boat running submerged 300 mi (260 nmi; 480 km) south-east of Cape Race. Making a sudden attack, Farquhar closed and dropped 13 depth charges in a single attack, which destroyed U-881 with the loss of all hands.
Conclusion
These were the last U-boats destroyed in action in American waters; on 8 May, the Germans surrendered, and the last active U-boats in American waters gave themselves up to units of the USN and RCN.
See also
References
- Clay Blair: Hitler's U-Boat War Vol II (1998). New York: Random House. ISBN 978-0-679-45742-8
- Kemp, Paul (1997). U-Boats Destroyed, German submarine losses in the World Wars. Arms and Armour. ISBN 1-85409-515-3.
- Niestle, Axel (1998). German U-Boat Losses During World War II. Greenhill. ISBN 1-85367-352-8.