Admiral Max Horton (May 1945)

Commander-in-Chief, Western Approaches

Royal Navy

May 1945

It has been two eventful years since I assumed the position of Commander-in-Chief for Western Approaches Command. In May of 1943, after a heated battle, I sent a victory signal which stated that the Battle of the Atlantic underwent a decisive change in our favour, and the climax of the battle had been surmounted.

This has proved to be the case. Since then, Doenitz has been on the run. We were able to close the gap through technology. Radar prevented the German type VII and IX U-Boats from surfacing, and their weak underwater speed and performance prevented them from dealing with our increasing number of escorts. We successfully used Ultra to penetrate German ciphers, and locate and destroy the U-boats. We remained ahead of the game with new technology, such as the "Squid" mortar, which fired larger depth charges than the Hedgehog. In cooperation with the Americans, shipbuilding also overtook the tonnage that we lost to our enemy.

While the Germans advanced in technology since 1943, with the schnorchel enabling the boats to inhale air while submerged, they were still unable to defend against our ships and our radar. Despite the death of Captain "Johnnie" Walker in 1944, the support groups still frustrated German attempts at attacking the convoys. Allied air patrols halted German attempts to reach Norway. The bombing program against Germany managed to destroy the Dortmund-Ems Canal and set the U-boat building program back in 1944, preventing the programme from completing its promised 131 U-boats. While the type XXI and XXIII U-boats were introduced earlier this year, they arrived much too late to make a difference. Doenitz's attempt at a last hurrah in April, using six Type IX schnorchel-equipped U-boats in a wolf pack (Seewolf), was foiled by Ultra. The US Navy greeted the wolf pack by sinking four of the six U-boats, forcing the other two to flee.

On May 4th, 1945, General-Admiral Hans Georg von Freideburg, acting as Doenitz's plenipotentiary, signed the surrender of all German forces in the north-west. As a result, submarine command requested that all boats cease offensive patrols. Doenitz subsequently sent out a message stating that a continuation of the fight was no longer possible, authorising unconditional surrender.

The tide turned in 1943, and the Allies have proven superior in industrial production, intelligence, weaponry, and strategy since then. Our only regret is that the war has ended without complete Allied mastery of the U-boat, as we were unable to conclusively defeat the latest U-boats at sea before the Germans surrendered.

We have won.

Photo - Admiral Horton inspects surrendered U-boat (May 1945)

Admiral Horton inspecting U-532. Escorted by German officer.

Captain Frederic "Johnnie" Walker (March 1944)

Commander of the Second Support Group

Royal Navy

March 1944

I am the leader of the Second Support Group, which succeeded in sinking six U-boats in 1943. Of all the battles I have experienced, the battle in January and February has been the most climatic of them all.

We managed to sink six U-boats in a single patrol, from January to February. The situation has changed drastically since 1943, and Doenitz's desperate attempts are utterly ineffective now. Our reinforcements arrived promptly after our convoy was sighted by the Germans, thanks to British intelligence. This enabled Coastal Command to send a squadron of Beaufighters to ward off German air-patrols, and dispatch more ships to protect the convoy and its escorts. The Germans were only able to sink two ships - one merchant ship, and HMS Woodpecker. However, all the crew of the Woodpecker were able to escape, and there was no loss of life.

Eleven U-boats were destroyed, six by the Second Support Group's hand. It was a resounding success. we were also able to gain intelligence about the new German innovation, the schnorkel. One of the U-boats (U264) which we attacked was fitted with a schnorkel. The commander, Hartwig Looks, was meant to submit a report about its effectiveness after the battle. We succeeded in capturing Looks and his crew after sinking U264, and he has since volunteered information about the schnorkel and other German technological developments to the Naval Intelligence Division, supplementing the knowledge gained from Ultra.

When we returned to Liverpool on the 25th of February, the whole port was full of cheering people - why, even the First Lord of the Admiralty was there to greet us! The Germans have suffered a terrible loss with this battle, and I think that this has been one of the decisive victories in the Battle of the Atlantic.

Since 1943, the Germans have been the underdog, and the tide has turned against them. Their actions do not stem from a position of naval supremacy, but are the result of their increasing desperation. From January to March, we have sunk thirty-six submarines in the Atlantic, and Doenitz is now pulling his U-boats back to defend the Reich because we have sunk so many. We are able to deliver food, fuel, and ammunition reliably. Our boys have come to describe the convoy route as a "milk run" because it is as routine and uneventful as a milkman's daily route.

Despite this resounding success and the withdrawal of many U-boats, I will not rest on my laurels, and I will ceaselessly strive to aid Britain in its victory. I believe that it is only a matter of time before the Germans will either collapse or surrender, and I will do my best to ensure this outcome.

Karl Doenitz, end 1943

The ONS- 5 onslaught had been the downfall for us. We are getting into real trouble now, and I am concerned at the amount of U- boats being sunk. We fight on, but there seem to be some serious problems ahead of us.

Signing off

Karl Doenitz, Commander in Chief, Kriegsmarine
late 1943

Lieutenant Commander R. E Sherwood (May 1943)

Mid-Ocean Escort Force group B7, HMS Tay

Escort of Convoy ONS-5

Royal Navy

May 1943

This battle has definitely marked the decline of U-boat supremacy in the Atlantic. The tide has been turned, and Doenitz will have a hard time recovering from the results of this confrontation! The convoy suffered the loss of twelve merchant ships out of forty-three. However, its escorts have managed to destroy six U-boats, and inflict severe damage on seven more U-boats. If we can repeat the successes of this battle, Doenitz will be forced to admit defeat by May!

But boasting does no good on its own, so I shall describe my actions in the battle.

Commander Gretton was commanding the HMS Duncan, but was forced to withdraw. The weather conditions were poor at that point in time - ONS-5 was travelling slowly, and the escort fleet was scattered. The difficulty of refueling in such poor weather also led Commander Gretton to take the HMS Duncan to refuel at St John's. Prior to that, Gretton had successfully driven off five U-boat attacks, and succeeded in damaging two U-boats, forcing them to return to base. I took over command of the escort fleet from Commander Gretton on the 3rd of May.

After I assumed command, the weather began to improve, and the convoy was able to pick up speed. Doenitz had called off his earlier attacks on ONS-5 due to poor weather conditions, instead choosing to focus on interception of the SC128 convoy. However, failure to detect SC128 caused him to turn his attentions to us, mobilising forty U-boats against ONS-5. Doenitz launched his attack on May 4th, but the corvette Pink was able to sink a U-boat and round up the stragglers in the convoy.

The assaults continued into the night of May 5th. By that time, the crews of the escorts were worn out from the dreadful weather and their lack of sleep, but they still managed to mount an assault against the U-boats. We succeeded in sinking four U-boats and damaging a few others. While the U-boats attempted to assault the convoy twenty-six times, every attempt failed. Doenitz was forced to break off the battle shortly after the reinforcements sent by Admiral Horton arrived on May 6th - HMS Pelican, the cutter Sennen, and the frigates Spey, Wear, and Jed.

Our victory in this battle was due to the hard work of the crews and Admiral Horton's incredible ability to strategise, but also due to our superior technology. The failure of the U-boats' twenty-six attempts can be credited to our radar. Vidette was able to detect and drive off three attackers due to its radar. After detecting the enemy with radar, our ships were able to use anti-submarine weapons against them. Depth charges enabled Snowflake to blow a U-boat to the surface. When the U-boat attempted to escape after being forced to surface, Vidette used the Hedgehog against the U-boat. The Hedgehog's small mortar bombs exploded promptly on contact, sending the U-boat to the bottom of the ocean.

Air support from our allies also aided the battle. The US Army sweeping the area and the Canadian air cover on May 4th helped to delay the U-boats from making initial contact with the convoy, and the depth charges from the Canadians succeeded in sinking U-630.

This battle has thoroughly dispelled the mystique of the Wolf Pack - this great success will be a turning point. The U-boats are no longer undefeatable. With our superior crews, technology, and intelligence, as well as the cooperation of the Americans and Canadians, we will be able to force Doenitz to turn tail and admit defeat in the Atlantic!

Photo - Rescued Allied seamen (ONS-5)

(click photo to enlarge)

German Naval Commentator, 1943

The convoy ONS 5 is giving us some real problems. This seems to be a major battle.

After our successful convoy battles in March, we had to return many U-boats back to ports for repairs and improvements. There may be code decryption by the British, and I seriously suspect so. On the 24 our great U-710 had been sunk by the air escort for the convoy. We are continuing to get hit hard and it seems like the enemy is making progress in anticipating and attacking our Wolf Pack. There may be a reversal in battle plans as our night attack strategy is being imitated by the allies. Thus we shall surface and strike in the day, but I doubt truly that this will produce any considerable results. Surface escorts only are defeating our U-boats! There is a serious fog problem as well, but this seems to be an issue that is commonplace in the areas of hot and cold gulf stream conflate. We are going to lose a few U boats here, for the first time in the war.