Operation Teardrop
Encyclopedia
Operation Teardrop was a United States Navy
operation of World War II
conducted during April and May 1945 to sink German U-boat
s that were believed to be approaching the United States east coast
armed with V-1 flying bomb
s. Two large U.S. Navy anti-submarine warfare
task forces succeeded in destroying five of the boats, for the loss of one destroyer escort
. After the war the Allies determined that the submarines were not carrying missiles.
Operation Teardrop was planned during late 1944 in response to intelligence
reports which indicated that Germany was preparing a force of missile-armed submarines. The plan was executed in April 1945 after several Type IX submarines
put to sea from Norway bound for the United States. While severe weather conditions in the North Atlantic Ocean
greatly reduced the effectiveness of the four U.S. Navy escort carriers involved, long patrol lines of destroyer escort
s successfully detected and engaged most of the German submarines. Four of the submarines engaged were sunk with the loss of their entire crew. Most of the crew of the other submarine to be sunk were captured, with the specialists among the prisoners being brutally interrogated. In exchange, was sunk with the loss of most of her crew. The surviving U-boats surrendered to the U.S. Navy in early May as part of the general German surrender.
received intelligence reports which suggested that the German Navy
was planning to use launched from submarines to attack cities on the east coast of the United States. In September that year, Oscar Mantel, a spy captured by the U.S. Navy when the submarine transporting him to Maine
was sunk, told his Federal Bureau of Investigation
interrogators that several missile-equipped U-boats were being readied. United States Tenth Fleet
analysts subsequently examined photos of unusual mountings on U-boats at bases in Norway, but concluded that they were wooden tracks used to load torpedoes. Further rumors of missile-armed submarines emerged later that year, including one from Sweden passed on by the Supreme Headquarters Allied Expeditionary Force
. The British Admiralty
discounted these reports, and assessed that while V-1s could be potentially mounted on Type IX submarines, the Germans were unlikely to devote scarce resources to such a project.
Despite the Tenth Fleet and Admiralty assessments, the U.S. military and government remained concerned that Germany would conduct vengeance attacks against east coast cities. In early November 1944, the Eastern Sea Frontier
mounted an intensive search for submarines within 250 mi (402.3 km) of New York City. In early December 1944, the spies William Curtis Colepaugh
and Eric Gimpel, who had been captured in New York City after being landed by in Maine, told their interrogators that Germany was preparing a group of rocket-equipped submarines. On 10 December, the Mayor of New York City
, Fiorello La Guardia, publicly warned that Germany was considering an attack on New York with long-ranged rockets. La Guardia's warning and the claims made by the captured spies received considerable media coverage. Despite this, the Department of War
, which was dominated by the Army
, advised President Franklin D. Roosevelt
on 11 December that the threat of missile attack was so low that it did not justify the diversion of resources from other tasks. This assessment was not supported by the U.S. Navy.
In response to the perceived threat, the U.S. Atlantic Fleet
prepared a plan to defend the east coast from attacks by aerial raiders and missiles. This plan was originally code-named 'Operation Bumblebee', and later renamed 'Operation Teardrop'. Completed on 6 January 1945, the plan involved U.S. Navy anti-submarine forces as well as United States Army Air Forces
(USAAF) and Army units, which were responsible for shooting down attacking aircraft and missiles. The centerpiece of the plan was the formation of two large naval task forces to operate in the mid-Atlantic as a barrier against submarines approaching the east coast. These task forces were formed from several existing escort carrier groups, and used Argentia, Newfoundland
as their forward operating base. As well as guarding against missile attacks, these large forces were tasked with countering the new and high-performance Type XXI submarines
if they began operating in the central Atlantic. The Atlantic Fleet's commander, Vice Admiral Jonas H. Ingram
, gave a press conference on 8 January in which he warned there was a threat of missile attack and announced that a large force had been assembled to counter seaborne missile launchers.
In January 1945, German Minister of Armaments and War Production Albert Speer
made a propaganda
broadcast in which he claimed that V-1 and V-2s "would fall on New York by February 1, 1945", increasing the U.S. Government's concern over the threat of attack. However, the Germans had no ability to fire missiles from their submarines, as both attempts to develop submarine-launched rockets ended in failure. In June 1942, was used to trial small and short-ranged artillery rockets which could be fired while submerged. Development of this system ended in early 1943, as it was found to decrease the U-boats' seaworthiness. The German military also began the development of a U-boat-towed launch canister for the V-2 ballistic missile in November 1944. Once complete, these canisters were to be towed to a position off the U.S. east coast and be used to attack New York. Vulkan Docks in Stettin
was contracted to build a prototype in March or April 1945 but little work took place before Germany's final collapse. It is unlikely that the system would have been successful if it had been completed.
" and ordered to attack shipping from New York southwards. The remaining two boats — and — were directed to Canadian waters. The purpose of this deployment was to "annoy and defy the United States".
The Allies were aware of this force's departure and destination through information gathered from Enigma
decrypts. Vice Admiral Ingram and the U.S. Tenth Fleet concluded that the boats in Gruppe Seewolf were carrying V-1s and launched Operation Teardrop in response. The ships of the First Barrier Force, which comprised escort carriers and and 20 destroyer escorts, sortied from Hampton Roads
between 25 and 27 March, proceeded to Argentia to refuel and assembled east of Cape Race
on 11 April. Twelve of the destroyer escorts deployed into a line 120 mi (193.1 km) long while the two carriers, each protected by four destroyer escorts, sailed to the west of the line. The carriers' air operations were, however, greatly hindered by heavy seas. The rough weather also forced the cancellation of planned memorial services for President Roosevelt after his death on 12 April.
As it sailed west, Gruppe Seewolf was ordered to attack shipping by U-boat Command
. The boats found no targets, however, as the Allies had routed convoys to the south to avoid the submarines and severe weather. The German submarines began to reach their initial stations east of the Grand Banks of Newfoundland on 8 April. U-Boat Command assigned Gruppe Seewolf 12 different scouting lines between 2 and 19 April. The radio signals directing these deployments were decrypted by the Allies, providing them with accurate information on where the boats were operating.
anti-submarine mortar, but missed as the submarine submerged. Assisted by , Stanton quickly gained sonar contact with the submarine and made three more hedgehog attacks. The third attack, which was conducted at 00:33 on 16 April, sank the submarine with the loss of her entire crew. Shortly afterwards Frost detected U-880 by radar as she attempted to flee the area on the surface. After illuminating the submarine with star shell and spotlights, the destroyer escort opened fire on her with Bofors 40 mm guns from a range of 650 yd (594.4 m) at 02:09. U-880 quickly submerged but was tracked by Stantons and Frosts sonar operators. The two American ships made several hedgehog attacks on the submarine, with Stanton sinking her with no survivors at 04:04. Both submarines suffered huge explosions after being struck by hedgehog projectiles. This further raised the fear that they were carrying rockets and motivated the First Barrier Force to intensify its efforts to destroy the remaining U-boats.
The First Barrier Force maneuvered south westward following the destruction of U-1235 and U-880. Leigh light
-equipped B-24 Liberator
s from VPB-114
spotted U-805 on the surface during the nights of 18–19 April. The submarine was only 50 mi (80.5 km) from Mission Bay and her escorts, but was not attacked as the aircraft couldn't confirm whether she was hostile before she submerged. On the night of 20 April, U-546 attempted to torpedo a U.S. destroyer escort, but missed. The following night, U-805 was detected by , but escaped after being depth charged by Mosley, and for two hours.
The First Barrier Force scored its final success on the night of 21–22 April. Just before midnight, detected U-518 with sonar. joined her and made the initial hedgehog attack on the submarine. Following this, Carter made her own hedgehog run, which sank U-518 with no survivors. By this time, the First Barrier Force was returning to Argentia, after the Second Barrier Force relieved it.
on 16 April, while Core and 12 destroyer escorts sailed from Bermuda
and other locations. The force was initially stationed along the 45th meridian
in a patrol line 105 mi (169 km) long, and sailed towards the east. This line was made up of 14 destroyer escorts sailing at 5 mi (8 km) intervals, with Core and her four escorts at its northern end and Bogue and her four escorts at the southern end.
On the night of 22–23 April, U-boat Command dissolved Gruppe Seewolf and directed the three surviving boats to take up stations between New York and Halifax. Shortly afterwards, , and , which had been operating separately, were also ordered to positions between New York and Cape Hatteras
. Radio signals directing these deployments were decrypted by Allied code breakers and increased fears that the submarines were trying to attack American cities.
The Second Barrier Force encountered its first U-boat on 23 April when a TBF Avenger
from VC-19 sighted U-881 about 74 mi (119.1 km) north west of Bogue just after noon. The aircraft dropped depth charges, but did not seriously damage the submarine. This was the first attack made by an aircraft during Operation Teardrop. The next day, U-546 sighted Core and maneuvered to attack the escort carrier. She attempted to pass through the barrier line but was detected by USS Frederick C. Davis at 08:30, which immediately prepared to attack the submarine. After realizing that his boat had been detected U-546s commander, Kapitänleutnant Paul Just, fired a T-5 acoustic torpedo
at the destroyer escort from a range of 650 yd (594.4 m). Frederick C. Davis foxer
decoy was not effective, and the torpedo struck her forward engine room at 0835. She sank five minutes later with the loss of all but 66 of her 192 crewmen. Eight American destroyer escorts subsequently hunted U-546 for almost 10 hours before severely damaged her with a hedgehog salvo. The submarine immediately surfaced, but sank after Flaherty and three or four other destroyer escorts fired at it. Kapitänleutnant Just and 32 other crewmen survived the sinking and were taken prisoner.
Some of U-546s survivors were harshly treated in an attempt to force them to divulge whether the submarines bound for the U.S. east coast were carrying missiles. After brief interviews on board Bogue, the survivors were transferred to the U.S. base at Argentia. Upon arrival on 27 April, the prisoners were screened for interrogation, with eight specialists being separated from the other 25 survivors, who were then sent to prisoner of war
camps. The specialists were held in solitary confinement and subjected to "shock interrogation" techniques, exhausting physical exercise and beatings. On 30 April, Kapitänleutnant Just provided brief information on Gruppe Seewolf's composition and mission following a second interview in which he collapsed unconscious. The information provided by Just and the other specialists did not mention whether the submarines were equipped with missiles. The eight men were transferred to Fort Hunt, Virginia
shortly after VE Day
, where they continued to be harshly treated until Just agreed to write an account of U-546s history on 12 May. Historian Philip K. Lundeberg has written that the beating and torture of U-546s survivors was a "singular atrocity" motivated by the interrogators' need to promptly extract information on potential missile attacks.
The Second Barrier Force slowly moved south west from 24 April, searching for the remaining U-boats. made radar contact with a submarine on the night of 24 April, but it escaped during the resulting search. After a week of searching south of the Newfoundland Banks, the barrier force was split on 2 May to provide greater depth. The Mission Bay group reinforced the Second Barrier Force during this period, bringing its strength to three escort carriers and thirty one destroyer escorts.
U-881 became the fifth and final U-boat to be sunk during Operation Teardrop on 5 May. The boat was detected while attempting to pass submerged through the barrier line by shortly before daybreak. The destroyer escort immediately turned to starboard and dropped depth charges, which sank the submarine with no survivors at 0616. U-881 was the last German submarine to be sunk by the U.S. Navy during World War II.
The Second Barrier Force established its final barrier line along the 60th meridian
on 7 May. Following the end of World War II in Europe
, it accepted the surrender of , U-805, U-858 and at sea before returning to bases on the U.S. east coast.
After the German surrender the U.S. Navy continued its efforts to determine whether the U-boats had carried missiles. The crews of U-805 and U-858 were interrogated and confirmed that their boats were not fitted with missile launching equipment. Kapitänleutnant Fritz Stienhoff, who had commanded U-511 during her rocket trials and was captured at sea when he surrendered , was subjected to an abusive interrogation at Portsmouth by the interviewers of U-546s crew. An official Navy investigation was held into this interrogation after Stienhoff committed suicide at Charles Street Jail
in Boston
shortly afterwards. It is not known if the Allies were aware of Stienhoff's involvement in the rocket trials.
The tactics used in Operation Teardrop were evaluated by U.S. Navy officers after the war. The escort carriers' air wings were disappointed with their experience, as their ability to detect submarines was hampered by severe weather throughout the operation. Despite this, the aircraft were successful in forcing the U-boats to remain submerged, thereby greatly slowing their speed. Other after action reports stressed the importance of teamwork between destroyer escorts when attacking submarines and argued that single barrier lines such as those used throughout most of Operation Teardrop were inferior to grouping ships in assigned patrol areas. Nevertheless, Philip K. Lundeberg has assessed the operation as "a classic demonstration not only of coordinated hunter tactics, derived in part from British experience, but also of the profound impact of communications intelligence in the interdiction of U-boat transit and operating areas."
A variant of the V-1 was used by the U.S. Navy to test the feasibility of launching missiles from submarines in the years after World War II. Republic-Ford JB-2 "Loon"
missiles were launched from and in a series of tests which began on February 12, 1947. These tests were successful, and led to the development of further submarine-launched cruise missiles. The U.S. Navy's success in adapting a variant of the V-1 to be launched from submarines also demonstrated that it would have been technically feasible for the German Navy to have done the same.
United States Navy
The United States Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the seven uniformed services of the United States. The U.S. Navy is the largest in the world; its battle fleet tonnage is greater than that of the next 13 largest navies combined. The U.S...
operation of World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
conducted during April and May 1945 to sink German U-boat
U-boat
U-boat is the anglicized version of the German word U-Boot , itself an abbreviation of Unterseeboot , and refers to military submarines operated by Germany, particularly in World War I and World War II...
s that were believed to be approaching the United States east coast
East Coast of the United States
The East Coast of the United States, also known as the Eastern Seaboard, refers to the easternmost coastal states in the United States, which touch the Atlantic Ocean and stretch up to Canada. The term includes the U.S...
armed with V-1 flying bomb
V-1 flying bomb
The V-1 flying bomb, also known as the Buzz Bomb or Doodlebug, was an early pulse-jet-powered predecessor of the cruise missile....
s. Two large U.S. Navy anti-submarine warfare
Anti-submarine warfare
Anti-submarine warfare is a branch of naval warfare that uses surface warships, aircraft, or other submarines to find, track and deter, damage or destroy enemy submarines....
task forces succeeded in destroying five of the boats, for the loss of one destroyer escort
Destroyer escort
A destroyer escort is the classification for a smaller, lightly armed warship designed to be used to escort convoys of merchant marine ships, primarily of the United States Merchant Marine in World War II. It is employed primarily for anti-submarine warfare, but also provides some protection...
. After the war the Allies determined that the submarines were not carrying missiles.
Operation Teardrop was planned during late 1944 in response to intelligence
Intelligence (information gathering)
Intelligence assessment is the development of forecasts of behaviour or recommended courses of action to the leadership of an organization, based on a wide range of available information sources both overt and covert. Assessments are developed in response to requirements declared by the leadership...
reports which indicated that Germany was preparing a force of missile-armed submarines. The plan was executed in April 1945 after several Type IX submarines
German Type IX submarine
The Type IX U-boat was designed by Germany in 1935 and 1936 as a large ocean-going submarine for sustained operations far from the home support facilities. Type IX boats were briefly used for patrols off the eastern United States in an attempt to disrupt the stream of troops and supplies bound for...
put to sea from Norway bound for the United States. While severe weather conditions in the North Atlantic Ocean
Atlantic Ocean
The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's oceanic divisions. With a total area of about , it covers approximately 20% of the Earth's surface and about 26% of its water surface area...
greatly reduced the effectiveness of the four U.S. Navy escort carriers involved, long patrol lines of destroyer escort
Destroyer escort
A destroyer escort is the classification for a smaller, lightly armed warship designed to be used to escort convoys of merchant marine ships, primarily of the United States Merchant Marine in World War II. It is employed primarily for anti-submarine warfare, but also provides some protection...
s successfully detected and engaged most of the German submarines. Four of the submarines engaged were sunk with the loss of their entire crew. Most of the crew of the other submarine to be sunk were captured, with the specialists among the prisoners being brutally interrogated. In exchange, was sunk with the loss of most of her crew. The surviving U-boats surrendered to the U.S. Navy in early May as part of the general German surrender.
Background
In late 1944, the AlliesAllies of World War II
The Allies of World War II were the countries that opposed the Axis powers during the Second World War . Former Axis states contributing to the Allied victory are not considered Allied states...
received intelligence reports which suggested that the German Navy
Kriegsmarine
The Kriegsmarine was the name of the German Navy during the Nazi regime . It superseded the Kaiserliche Marine of World War I and the post-war Reichsmarine. The Kriegsmarine was one of three official branches of the Wehrmacht, the unified armed forces of Nazi Germany.The Kriegsmarine grew rapidly...
was planning to use launched from submarines to attack cities on the east coast of the United States. In September that year, Oscar Mantel, a spy captured by the U.S. Navy when the submarine transporting him to Maine
Maine
Maine is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States, bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the east and south, New Hampshire to the west, and the Canadian provinces of Quebec to the northwest and New Brunswick to the northeast. Maine is both the northernmost and easternmost...
was sunk, told his Federal Bureau of Investigation
Federal Bureau of Investigation
The Federal Bureau of Investigation is an agency of the United States Department of Justice that serves as both a federal criminal investigative body and an internal intelligence agency . The FBI has investigative jurisdiction over violations of more than 200 categories of federal crime...
interrogators that several missile-equipped U-boats were being readied. United States Tenth Fleet
United States Tenth Fleet
The Tenth Fleet is a functional formation of the United States Navy responsible for the Navy's cyber warfare programs. It was first created as an anti submarine warfare coordinating organization during the Battle of the Atlantic in the Second World War...
analysts subsequently examined photos of unusual mountings on U-boats at bases in Norway, but concluded that they were wooden tracks used to load torpedoes. Further rumors of missile-armed submarines emerged later that year, including one from Sweden passed on by the Supreme Headquarters Allied Expeditionary Force
Supreme Headquarters Allied Expeditionary Force
Supreme Headquarters Allied Expeditionary Force , was the headquarters of the Commander of Allied forces in north west Europe, from late 1943 until the end of World War II. U.S. General Dwight D. Eisenhower was in command of SHAEF throughout its existence...
. The British Admiralty
Admiralty
The Admiralty was formerly the authority in the Kingdom of England, and later in the United Kingdom, responsible for the command of the Royal Navy...
discounted these reports, and assessed that while V-1s could be potentially mounted on Type IX submarines, the Germans were unlikely to devote scarce resources to such a project.
Eastern Sea Frontier
The Eastern Sea Frontier was a United States Navy operational command during World War II, that was responsible for the coastal waters from Canada to Jacksonville, Florida, extending out for a nominal distance of two hundred miles....
mounted an intensive search for submarines within 250 mi (402.3 km) of New York City. In early December 1944, the spies William Curtis Colepaugh
William Colepaugh
William Curtis Colepaugh was an American who, following his 1943 discharge from the US Naval Reserve , defected to Nazi Germany in 1944. While a crewman on a United States Merchant Marine ship that stopped off in Lisbon, Colepaugh defected at the German consulate...
and Eric Gimpel, who had been captured in New York City after being landed by in Maine, told their interrogators that Germany was preparing a group of rocket-equipped submarines. On 10 December, the Mayor of New York City
Mayor of New York City
The Mayor of the City of New York is head of the executive branch of New York City's government. The mayor's office administers all city services, public property, police and fire protection, most public agencies, and enforces all city and state laws within New York City.The budget overseen by the...
, Fiorello La Guardia, publicly warned that Germany was considering an attack on New York with long-ranged rockets. La Guardia's warning and the claims made by the captured spies received considerable media coverage. Despite this, the Department of War
United States Department of War
The United States Department of War, also called the War Department , was the United States Cabinet department originally responsible for the operation and maintenance of the United States Army...
, which was dominated by the Army
United States Army
The United States Army is the main branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for land-based military operations. It is the largest and oldest established branch of the U.S. military, and is one of seven U.S. uniformed services...
, advised President Franklin D. Roosevelt
Franklin D. Roosevelt
Franklin Delano Roosevelt , also known by his initials, FDR, was the 32nd President of the United States and a central figure in world events during the mid-20th century, leading the United States during a time of worldwide economic crisis and world war...
on 11 December that the threat of missile attack was so low that it did not justify the diversion of resources from other tasks. This assessment was not supported by the U.S. Navy.
In response to the perceived threat, the U.S. Atlantic Fleet
United States Fleet Forces Command
The United States Fleet Forces Command is an Atlantic Ocean theater-level component command of the United States Navy that provides naval resources that are under the operational control of the United States Northern Command...
prepared a plan to defend the east coast from attacks by aerial raiders and missiles. This plan was originally code-named 'Operation Bumblebee', and later renamed 'Operation Teardrop'. Completed on 6 January 1945, the plan involved U.S. Navy anti-submarine forces as well as United States Army Air Forces
United States Army Air Forces
The United States Army Air Forces was the military aviation arm of the United States of America during and immediately after World War II, and the direct predecessor of the United States Air Force....
(USAAF) and Army units, which were responsible for shooting down attacking aircraft and missiles. The centerpiece of the plan was the formation of two large naval task forces to operate in the mid-Atlantic as a barrier against submarines approaching the east coast. These task forces were formed from several existing escort carrier groups, and used Argentia, Newfoundland
Argentia, Newfoundland and Labrador
Argentia is a community on the island of Newfoundland in the Canadian province of Newfoundland and Labrador. It is situated on a flat headland located along the southwest coast of the Avalon Peninsula on Placentia Bay...
as their forward operating base. As well as guarding against missile attacks, these large forces were tasked with countering the new and high-performance Type XXI submarines
German Type XXI submarine
Type XXI U-boats, also known as "Elektroboote", were the first submarines designed to operate primarily submerged, rather than as surface ships that could submerge as a means to escape detection or launch an attack.-Description:...
if they began operating in the central Atlantic. The Atlantic Fleet's commander, Vice Admiral Jonas H. Ingram
Jonas H. Ingram
Admiral Jonas Howard Ingram was an officer in the United States Navy during World War I and World War II...
, gave a press conference on 8 January in which he warned there was a threat of missile attack and announced that a large force had been assembled to counter seaborne missile launchers.
In January 1945, German Minister of Armaments and War Production Albert Speer
Albert Speer
Albert Speer, born Berthold Konrad Hermann Albert Speer, was a German architect who was, for a part of World War II, Minister of Armaments and War Production for the Third Reich. Speer was Adolf Hitler's chief architect before assuming ministerial office...
made a propaganda
Propaganda
Propaganda is a form of communication that is aimed at influencing the attitude of a community toward some cause or position so as to benefit oneself or one's group....
broadcast in which he claimed that V-1 and V-2s "would fall on New York by February 1, 1945", increasing the U.S. Government's concern over the threat of attack. However, the Germans had no ability to fire missiles from their submarines, as both attempts to develop submarine-launched rockets ended in failure. In June 1942, was used to trial small and short-ranged artillery rockets which could be fired while submerged. Development of this system ended in early 1943, as it was found to decrease the U-boats' seaworthiness. The German military also began the development of a U-boat-towed launch canister for the V-2 ballistic missile in November 1944. Once complete, these canisters were to be towed to a position off the U.S. east coast and be used to attack New York. Vulkan Docks in Stettin
Szczecin
Szczecin , is the capital city of the West Pomeranian Voivodeship in Poland. It is the country's seventh-largest city and the largest seaport in Poland on the Baltic Sea. As of June 2009 the population was 406,427....
was contracted to build a prototype in March or April 1945 but little work took place before Germany's final collapse. It is unlikely that the system would have been successful if it had been completed.
Initial deployments
Nine Type IX U-boats were dispatched from Norway to patrol off Canada and the U.S. in March 1945. On 12 April, , , , , , and were designated "Gruppe SeewolfWolf pack Seewolf
Seewolf was a wolf pack of German U-boats that operated during the Battle of the Atlantic in World War II.-Service history:Seewolf was formed in March 1945 in an effort to re-establish the U-boat offensive in American waters; it was the last wolfpack of the Atlantic campaign...
" and ordered to attack shipping from New York southwards. The remaining two boats — and — were directed to Canadian waters. The purpose of this deployment was to "annoy and defy the United States".
The Allies were aware of this force's departure and destination through information gathered from Enigma
Enigma machine
An Enigma machine is any of a family of related electro-mechanical rotor cipher machines used for the encryption and decryption of secret messages. Enigma was invented by German engineer Arthur Scherbius at the end of World War I...
decrypts. Vice Admiral Ingram and the U.S. Tenth Fleet concluded that the boats in Gruppe Seewolf were carrying V-1s and launched Operation Teardrop in response. The ships of the First Barrier Force, which comprised escort carriers and and 20 destroyer escorts, sortied from Hampton Roads
Hampton Roads
Hampton Roads is the name for both a body of water and the Norfolk–Virginia Beach metropolitan area which surrounds it in southeastern Virginia, United States...
between 25 and 27 March, proceeded to Argentia to refuel and assembled east of Cape Race
Cape Race
Cape Race is a point of land located at the southeastern tip of the Avalon Peninsula on the island of Newfoundland, Canada. Its name is thought to come from the original Portuguese name for this cape, "Raso", or "bare"...
on 11 April. Twelve of the destroyer escorts deployed into a line 120 mi (193.1 km) long while the two carriers, each protected by four destroyer escorts, sailed to the west of the line. The carriers' air operations were, however, greatly hindered by heavy seas. The rough weather also forced the cancellation of planned memorial services for President Roosevelt after his death on 12 April.
As it sailed west, Gruppe Seewolf was ordered to attack shipping by U-boat Command
Befehlshaber der U-Boote
Befehlshaber der U-Boote was the title of the supreme commander of the Kriegsmarines U-boat Arm during World War II. The term also referred to the Command HQ of the U-boat arm itself....
. The boats found no targets, however, as the Allies had routed convoys to the south to avoid the submarines and severe weather. The German submarines began to reach their initial stations east of the Grand Banks of Newfoundland on 8 April. U-Boat Command assigned Gruppe Seewolf 12 different scouting lines between 2 and 19 April. The radio signals directing these deployments were decrypted by the Allies, providing them with accurate information on where the boats were operating.
First Barrier Force actions
Just before midnight on 15 April, made radar contact with U-1235 at a position about 500 mi (804.7 km) north of Flores Island. She immediately attacked the submarine with her hedgehogHedgehog (weapon)
The Hedgehog was an anti-submarine weapon developed by the Royal Navy during World War II, that was deployed on convoy escort warships such as destroyers to supplement the depth charge. The weapon worked by firing a number of small spigot mortar bombs from spiked fittings...
anti-submarine mortar, but missed as the submarine submerged. Assisted by , Stanton quickly gained sonar contact with the submarine and made three more hedgehog attacks. The third attack, which was conducted at 00:33 on 16 April, sank the submarine with the loss of her entire crew. Shortly afterwards Frost detected U-880 by radar as she attempted to flee the area on the surface. After illuminating the submarine with star shell and spotlights, the destroyer escort opened fire on her with Bofors 40 mm guns from a range of 650 yd (594.4 m) at 02:09. U-880 quickly submerged but was tracked by Stantons and Frosts sonar operators. The two American ships made several hedgehog attacks on the submarine, with Stanton sinking her with no survivors at 04:04. Both submarines suffered huge explosions after being struck by hedgehog projectiles. This further raised the fear that they were carrying rockets and motivated the First Barrier Force to intensify its efforts to destroy the remaining U-boats.
The First Barrier Force maneuvered south westward following the destruction of U-1235 and U-880. Leigh light
Leigh light
The Leigh Light was a British World War II era anti-submarine device used in the Second Battle of the Atlantic.It was a powerful carbon arc searchlight of 24 inches diameter fitted to a number of the British Royal Air Force's Coastal Command patrol bombers to help them spot surfaced...
-equipped B-24 Liberator
B-24 Liberator
The Consolidated B-24 Liberator was an American heavy bomber, designed by Consolidated Aircraft of San Diego, California. It was known within the company as the Model 32, and a small number of early models were sold under the name LB-30, for Land Bomber...
s from VPB-114
VP-26
The VP-26 "Tridents" are a U.S. Navy P-3C squadron based at Jacksonville Naval Air Station Jacksonville, Florida, United States.- Mission :As a member of Patrol Wing Eleven, VP-26 is a Maritime Patrol Squadron with a worldwide theater of operations...
spotted U-805 on the surface during the nights of 18–19 April. The submarine was only 50 mi (80.5 km) from Mission Bay and her escorts, but was not attacked as the aircraft couldn't confirm whether she was hostile before she submerged. On the night of 20 April, U-546 attempted to torpedo a U.S. destroyer escort, but missed. The following night, U-805 was detected by , but escaped after being depth charged by Mosley, and for two hours.
The First Barrier Force scored its final success on the night of 21–22 April. Just before midnight, detected U-518 with sonar. joined her and made the initial hedgehog attack on the submarine. Following this, Carter made her own hedgehog run, which sank U-518 with no survivors. By this time, the First Barrier Force was returning to Argentia, after the Second Barrier Force relieved it.
Second Barrier Force actions
The Second Barrier Force comprised escort carriers and and 22 destroyer escorts. Bogue and 10 destroyer escorts had sailed from QuonsetQuonset Point
Quonset Point, also known simply as Quonset, is a small peninsula in Narragansett Bay in the U.S. state of Rhode Island. It is contained entirely within the town of North Kingstown. "Quonset" is a Native American word likely meaning "small long place".Quonset Point was the location of Naval Air...
on 16 April, while Core and 12 destroyer escorts sailed from Bermuda
Bermuda
Bermuda is a British overseas territory in the North Atlantic Ocean. Located off the east coast of the United States, its nearest landmass is Cape Hatteras, North Carolina, about to the west-northwest. It is about south of Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada, and northeast of Miami, Florida...
and other locations. The force was initially stationed along the 45th meridian
45th meridian west
The meridian 45° west of Greenwich is a line of longitude that extends from the North Pole across the Arctic Ocean, Greenland, the Atlantic Ocean, South America, the Southern Ocean, and Antarctica to the South Pole....
in a patrol line 105 mi (169 km) long, and sailed towards the east. This line was made up of 14 destroyer escorts sailing at 5 mi (8 km) intervals, with Core and her four escorts at its northern end and Bogue and her four escorts at the southern end.
On the night of 22–23 April, U-boat Command dissolved Gruppe Seewolf and directed the three surviving boats to take up stations between New York and Halifax. Shortly afterwards, , and , which had been operating separately, were also ordered to positions between New York and Cape Hatteras
Cape Hatteras
Cape Hatteras is a cape on the coast of North Carolina. It is the point that protrudes the farthest to the southeast along the northeast-to-southwest line of the Atlantic coast of North America...
. Radio signals directing these deployments were decrypted by Allied code breakers and increased fears that the submarines were trying to attack American cities.
The Second Barrier Force encountered its first U-boat on 23 April when a TBF Avenger
TBF Avenger
The Grumman TBF Avenger was a torpedo bomber developed initially for the United States Navy and Marine Corps, and eventually used by several air or naval arms around the world....
from VC-19 sighted U-881 about 74 mi (119.1 km) north west of Bogue just after noon. The aircraft dropped depth charges, but did not seriously damage the submarine. This was the first attack made by an aircraft during Operation Teardrop. The next day, U-546 sighted Core and maneuvered to attack the escort carrier. She attempted to pass through the barrier line but was detected by USS Frederick C. Davis at 08:30, which immediately prepared to attack the submarine. After realizing that his boat had been detected U-546s commander, Kapitänleutnant Paul Just, fired a T-5 acoustic torpedo
G7es torpedo
The G7es or Zaunkönig T-5 was a torpedo employed by German U-boats during World War II. It was known as the GNAT to the British.- Description :...
at the destroyer escort from a range of 650 yd (594.4 m). Frederick C. Davis foxer
Foxer
Foxer, was the codename for a British built acoustic decoy, used to confuse German acoustic homing torpedoes like the G7es torpedo during the Second World War. A US version codenamed FXR was deployed in 1943. A Canadian version was also built called the CAT...
decoy was not effective, and the torpedo struck her forward engine room at 0835. She sank five minutes later with the loss of all but 66 of her 192 crewmen. Eight American destroyer escorts subsequently hunted U-546 for almost 10 hours before severely damaged her with a hedgehog salvo. The submarine immediately surfaced, but sank after Flaherty and three or four other destroyer escorts fired at it. Kapitänleutnant Just and 32 other crewmen survived the sinking and were taken prisoner.
Some of U-546s survivors were harshly treated in an attempt to force them to divulge whether the submarines bound for the U.S. east coast were carrying missiles. After brief interviews on board Bogue, the survivors were transferred to the U.S. base at Argentia. Upon arrival on 27 April, the prisoners were screened for interrogation, with eight specialists being separated from the other 25 survivors, who were then sent to prisoner of war
Prisoner of war
A prisoner of war or enemy prisoner of war is a person, whether civilian or combatant, who is held in custody by an enemy power during or immediately after an armed conflict...
camps. The specialists were held in solitary confinement and subjected to "shock interrogation" techniques, exhausting physical exercise and beatings. On 30 April, Kapitänleutnant Just provided brief information on Gruppe Seewolf's composition and mission following a second interview in which he collapsed unconscious. The information provided by Just and the other specialists did not mention whether the submarines were equipped with missiles. The eight men were transferred to Fort Hunt, Virginia
Fort Hunt, Virginia
Fort Hunt is a census-designated place in Fairfax County, Virginia, United States. . It is one of the wealthiest places in the United States with a median household income surpassing that of Greenwich, Connecticut and Malibu, California, and is most famous for the site of former P.O...
shortly after VE Day
Victory in Europe Day
Victory in Europe Day commemorates 8 May 1945 , the date when the World War II Allies formally accepted the unconditional surrender of the armed forces of Nazi Germany and the end of Adolf Hitler's Third Reich. The formal surrender of the occupying German forces in the Channel Islands was not...
, where they continued to be harshly treated until Just agreed to write an account of U-546s history on 12 May. Historian Philip K. Lundeberg has written that the beating and torture of U-546s survivors was a "singular atrocity" motivated by the interrogators' need to promptly extract information on potential missile attacks.
The Second Barrier Force slowly moved south west from 24 April, searching for the remaining U-boats. made radar contact with a submarine on the night of 24 April, but it escaped during the resulting search. After a week of searching south of the Newfoundland Banks, the barrier force was split on 2 May to provide greater depth. The Mission Bay group reinforced the Second Barrier Force during this period, bringing its strength to three escort carriers and thirty one destroyer escorts.
U-881 became the fifth and final U-boat to be sunk during Operation Teardrop on 5 May. The boat was detected while attempting to pass submerged through the barrier line by shortly before daybreak. The destroyer escort immediately turned to starboard and dropped depth charges, which sank the submarine with no survivors at 0616. U-881 was the last German submarine to be sunk by the U.S. Navy during World War II.
The Second Barrier Force established its final barrier line along the 60th meridian
60th meridian west
The meridian 60° west of Greenwich is a line of longitude that extends from the North Pole across the Arctic Ocean, Greenland, North America, the Atlantic Ocean, South America, the Southern Ocean, and Antarctica to the South Pole....
on 7 May. Following the end of World War II in Europe
End of World War II in Europe
The final battles of the European Theatre of World War II as well as the German surrender to the Western Allies and the Soviet Union took place in late April and early May 1945.-Timeline of surrenders and deaths:...
, it accepted the surrender of , U-805, U-858 and at sea before returning to bases on the U.S. east coast.
Aftermath
Charles Street Jail
The Charles Street Jail or "Suffolk County Jail" is a historic former jail located at 215 Charles Street, Boston, Massachusetts...
in Boston
Boston
Boston is the capital of and largest city in Massachusetts, and is one of the oldest cities in the United States. The largest city in New England, Boston is regarded as the unofficial "Capital of New England" for its economic and cultural impact on the entire New England region. The city proper had...
shortly afterwards. It is not known if the Allies were aware of Stienhoff's involvement in the rocket trials.
The tactics used in Operation Teardrop were evaluated by U.S. Navy officers after the war. The escort carriers' air wings were disappointed with their experience, as their ability to detect submarines was hampered by severe weather throughout the operation. Despite this, the aircraft were successful in forcing the U-boats to remain submerged, thereby greatly slowing their speed. Other after action reports stressed the importance of teamwork between destroyer escorts when attacking submarines and argued that single barrier lines such as those used throughout most of Operation Teardrop were inferior to grouping ships in assigned patrol areas. Nevertheless, Philip K. Lundeberg has assessed the operation as "a classic demonstration not only of coordinated hunter tactics, derived in part from British experience, but also of the profound impact of communications intelligence in the interdiction of U-boat transit and operating areas."
A variant of the V-1 was used by the U.S. Navy to test the feasibility of launching missiles from submarines in the years after World War II. Republic-Ford JB-2 "Loon"
Republic-Ford JB-2
The Republic-Ford JB-2 Loon was a United States copy of the German V-1 flying bomb. Developed in 1944, and planned to be used in the United States invasion of Japan , the JB-2 was never used in combat. It was the most successful of the United States Army Air Forces Jet Bomb projects during...
missiles were launched from and in a series of tests which began on February 12, 1947. These tests were successful, and led to the development of further submarine-launched cruise missiles. The U.S. Navy's success in adapting a variant of the V-1 to be launched from submarines also demonstrated that it would have been technically feasible for the German Navy to have done the same.