Wolfpack Eisbär

Eisbär (English: Polar Bear) was a wolfpack of German U-boats that operated from 23 to 29 August 1942 in the Second World War. This pack was assembled to operate in the South Atlantic off Cape Town which was considered to be virgin waters. Some of the most experienced U-boat commanders available such as Harald Gelhaus, Werner Hartenstein and Carl Emmermann were included. They shadowed the 29-ship Freetown, Sierra Leone to Liverpool Convoy SL 119 (14 August to 4 September 1942) and sank a ship of 5,941 gross register tons (GRT).^[1]

Background

Kriegsmarine

In 1941 the Germans had attempted to attack ships around South Africa and had been defeated by the interception of German U-boat supply ships. For the 1942 season Rear-Admiral (Konteradmiral) Karl Dönitz the commander, U-boats (Befehlshaber der Unterseeboote BdU) had available long-range Type IX submarines and supply boats to substitute for commerce raiders used earlier in the war.^[2]^[3] Dönitz and the commanders due to operate in Gruppe Eisbär planned that around 5 October 1942 that U-68 (Karl-Friedrich Merten) and U-172 (Carl Emmermann) would conduct a reconnaissance of Table Bay, getting past the minefields using captured charts and in the early hours of 8 October, during the new moon, attack the expected fifty ships anchored there. Outside the bay, U-159, U-504 and U-179 would lie in ambush for ships fleeing the bay. The boats might then sail into the Indian Ocean, depending on circumstances.^[4]

Royal Navy

Submarine Tracking Room

At the tracking room at the Admiralty, Commander Rodger Winn, kept watch over the deployment of Gruppe Eisbär and the second wave boats from 21 September.^[2] The Admiralty reduced the shipping at Cape Town by making Durban, on the east coast, the last stop for ships bound for Britain from the Suez Canal, the Persian Gulf and India. For the duration of Operation Torch, ships were routed far to the south of Cape Town and then north-west to Brazil then to Trinidad and the US to join convoys across the north Atlantic.^[5] Unknown to the British gruppe Eisbär was not going to operate as a rudel (pack) in the South Atlantic but to disperse after a raid on Table Bay near Cape Town.^[3]

South Atlantic Station

In late 1942, the naval forces of the Commander-in-Chief, South Atlantic were not adequate for an anti-U-boat campaign. Four destroyers and a few corvettes were based at Cape Town, some on loan from the Eastern Fleet based at Mombasa. There were not enough escorts or aircraft to convoy ships on the Cape to Freetown route up the west coast of Africa or the Cape to Suez route up the east coast. The exigencies of Operation Torch (8–16 November 1942) meant that there were few reinforcements available for South Africa. The British and the Americans diverted twelve British anti-submarine warfare (ASW) trawlers from the Western Approaches and eighteen from US waters, along with six more destroyers and four corvettes from the Eastern Fleet. Four Catalina flying boats of 209 Squadron were transferred to Cape Town and Durban. The transfers took time and the trawlers from US waters did not arrive until December.^[6]

Prelude

Gruppe Blücher attacked Convoy SL 119 and Dönitz, the BdU, diverted the Type IXC U-boats U-68, U-156, U-172 and U-504 of Gruppe Eisbär to join in the attack; U-156 sank SS Clan Macwhirter (5,941 GRT) on 27 August and on 12 September sank SS Laconia and became involved in the Laconia incident. Dönitz was overruled by Generaladmiral Erich Raeder the Oberbefehlshaber der Kriegsmarine and the staff at Seekriegsleitung, the operational headquarters of the German navy. Gruppe Eisbär was redirected southwards to Cape Town, refuelling from the tanker, U-459 south of Ascension Island. U-68 had sunk the British ship SS Trevilley (5,300 GRT) on 12 September and the Dutch ship SS Breedijk (6,861 GRT) on 14 September; U-159 took over from U-156.^[3]^[7] A second wave of four long-range Type IXD2 boats, U-177, U-178, U-179, U-181 and an Italian U-cruiser, Ammiraglio Cagni, were close behind. None of the other boats had fired torpedoes leaving the other IXC boats with 22 torpedoes each, the IXD2s with 24 each and Cagni with 42).^[8]

Operations

U-179 had not been diverted to Convoy SL 119 and on 8 October, during the afternoon, while 60 nmi (110 km; 69 mi) south of Cape Town, dived to avoid a Ventura maritime reconnaissance bomber of the South African Air Force. Before night fell, fired torpedoes at a ship forty minutes after spotting it and hit SS City of Athems then dived to 80 m (260 ft) after seeing another aircraft. The crew managed to launch all six lifeboats, that were spotted by another Ventura. Many other ships were under attack and sending distress calls but the destroyer HMS Active was diverted to rescue the survivors and took on board the crew less one man by 11:30 a.m.. The destroyer got a radar contact 2,500 yd (2,300 m) to the south-east, followed by an Asdic contact then a sighting. Active accelerated to 25 kn (46 km/h; 29 mph), opened fire and then dropped depth-charges that brought the U-boat to the surface, after which it sank out of view. No wreckage was found but a large oil slick formed.^[9]

U-159, that had replaced U-156, went into action off Cape Town on 7 October and sank the British SS Boringia with the loss of 28 crew. The next morning, when SS Clan Mactavish tried to rescue the 28 survivors it was torpedoed and another seven of the crew of Boringia were killed along with 53 from Clan Mactavish, the survivors being rescued by SS Matheran and taken to Cape Town. The US ship SS Coloradan was sunk on 9 October and U-159 survived a depth-charge attack by a South African aircraft. U-159 moved to the south-east and sank SS Empire Nomad, SS Ross and SS Laplace, all British, by the end of the month.^[10]

On 7 November, the US ship, SS La Salle, was destroyed 350 nmi (650 km; 400 mi) to the south-east of the Cape of Good Hope when its cargo of ammunition exploded, the sound being heard 300 nmi (560 km; 350 mi) away at the Cape Point lighthouse. The next ship sunk was SS Star of Scotland a US schooner, was sunk by gunfire, the survivors making a 1,040 nmi (1,930 km; 1,200 mi)-voyage to the Santa Maria lighthouse in Angola. By this time, U-159 was on the return leg of its voyage and refuelled from U-461 before sailing for the St Paul's Rocks, about 510 nmi (940 km; 590 mi) to the north-east of Brazil, then raiding along the Brazilian coast. U-159 sank the liner, SS City of Bombay, from which 120 of the 130 crew and passengers survived, twelve of whom were rescued by SS Star of Suez which U-159 sank on 15 December. SS East Wales was sunk on 16 December and then U-159 sailed for Lorient in France.^[11]

On 7 October, after reconnoitring the shores around Cape Town, U-172 sank the US ship SS Chickasaw City and on 8 October, sank the Panamanian MV Firethorn and the Greek SS Pantelis. Anti-submarine vessels from Cape Town attacked the U-boat, which escaped with minor damage. On 10 October the troopship SS Orcades, en route from Suez to Britain,was sunk in stormy weather. BdU sent U-172 to Brazilian coastal waters and in mid-November, it sank SS Aldington Court and SS Llandilo in the South Atlantic, then SS Benlomond off the Brazilian coast then sank the US SS Alaskan off St Paul's Rocks, before refuelling for the voyage home.^[12]

On 8 October, U-68 sank the Greek ship SS Koumoundouros, the Dutch SS Gaasterkerk, the US tanker SS Swiftsure and the British liner SS Sarthe. On 9 October, the US ship SS Examelia was sunk, followed by the emigré-manned SS Belgian Fighter. On 29 October, short of fuel, U-68 began the journey home and on 6 November, about 500 nmi (930 km; 580 mi) south of Saint Helena sank SS City of Cairo with the loss of 104 crew and passengers. The captain, Karl-Friedrich Merten, surfaced and gave the survivors a compass course for Saint Helena.^[13]

U-504 commenced operations off Cape Town on 17 October then headed up the east coast of South Africa and sank SS Empire of Chaucer. All but three of the crew of Empire of Chaucer survived, the captain and 11 men being rescued by Empire Squire, after 23 days fifteen men were rescued by SS Nebraska and another 14 landed at Bredasdorp in the Western Cape, after a two-week voyage. On 23 October, SS City of Johannesburg was sunk off East London and on 26 October U-504 sank the US ship SS Anne Hutchinson followed on 31 October by the British SS Empire Guidon east of Durban and SS Reynolds off Madagascar. U-504' sank the Brazilian SS Porto Alegre east of Port Elizabeth on its return voyage.^[14]

Aftermath

Analysis

For the loss of U-179 the German long-range submarines exposed the vulnerability of British shipping which was necessarily dispersed all over the globe. The sinking of U-179 was the only result of the anti-submarine warfare effort made in the region because the U-boats did not follow Rudeltaktik (wolfpack tactics) but dispersed as planned and operated individually^[15]

German order of battle

Group Polar Bear (Eisbär)

*Gruppe Eisbär*^[16]
Boat	Name	Flag	Type	Notes
U-68	Karl-Friedrich Merten	Kriegsmarine	Type IXC submarine
U-156	Werner Hartenstein	Kriegsmarine	Type IXC submarine	Replaced by U-159 after the Laconia incident
U-159	Helmut Witte	Kriegsmarine	Type IXC submarine	Replaced U-156 after the Laconia incident
U-172	Carl Emmermann	Kriegsmarine	Type IXC submarine
U-459	Wilamowitz-Moellendorff	Kriegsmarine	Type XIV submarine	Tanker and supply boat
U-504	Fritz Poske	Kriegsmarine	Type IXC submarine

Ships attacked

gruppe Eisbär

Merchant ships attacked by *gruppe Eisbär*^[17]
Ship	Year	Flag	GRT	Notes
SS Trevilley	1940	United Kingdom	5,296	Sunk U-68, 12 September, 04°30′S, 07°50′W, 2†, 49 resc.
SS Breedijk	1922	Netherlands	6,861	Sunk U-68, 15 September, 5°05′S, 8°54′W, 2† 50 resc.
SS Koumoundouros	1925	Greece	3,598	Sunk, U-68, 8 October, 34°10′S, 17°07′E, 5† 26 resc.
SS Gaasterkerk	1922	Netherlands	8,679	Sunk, U-68, 8 October, 34°20′S, 18°10′E, all 64 resc.
SS Swiftsure	1921	United States	8,207	Sunk, U-68, 8 October, 34°40′S, 18°25′E, all 33 resc.
SS Sarthe	1920	United Kingdom	5,271	Sunk, U-68, 8 October, 34°50′S, 18°40′E, all 57 resc.
SS Examelia	1920	United States	4,981	Sunk, U-68, 9 October, 34°52′S, 18°30′E, 11† 40 resc.
SS Belgian Fighter	1921	Belgium	5,403	Sunk, U-68, 9 October, 35°00′S, 18°30′E, 5† 49 resc.
SS City of Cairo	1915	United Kingdom	8,034	Sunk, U-68, 6 November, 23°30′S, 05°30′W, 104† 192 resc.
SS Clan Macwhirter	1918	United Kingdom	5,941	Sunk U-156, 26 August, 35°45′N, 18°45′W, 11†, 77 resc.
RMS Laconia	1922	United Kingdom	19,695	Sunk U-156, 12 September, 5°05′S, 11°38′W, 1,658† 1,083 resc.
SS Quebec City	1927	United Kingdom	4,745	Sunk U-156, 19 September, 2°12′S, 17°36′W, 1† 41 resc.
SS Boringia	1930	Denmark	5,821	Sunk U-159, 7 October, 35°09′S, 16°32′E, 32† 33 resc.
SS Clan Mactavish	1921	United Kingdom	7,631	Sunk U-159, 8 October, 34°53′S, 16°45′E, 61† 75 resc.
SS Coloradan	1920	United States	6,557	Sunk U-159, 9 October, 35°47′S, 14°34′E, 6† 48 resc.
SS Empire Nomad	1942	United Kingdom	7,167	Sunk U-159, 37°50′S, 18°16′E 7† 46 resc.
SS Ross	1936	United Kingdom	4,978	Sunk U-159, 29 October, 38°51′S, 21°40′E, 1† 39 resc.
SS Laplace	1919	United Kingdom	7,327	Sunk U-159, 29 October, 40°33′S, 21°35′E, all 63 resc.
SS La Salle	1920	United States	5,462	Sunk U-159, 7 November, 40°00′S, 21°30′E, all 60†
SS Star of Scotland	1887	United States	2,290	Sunk U-159, 13 November, 26°30′S, 00°20′W, 1† 16 resc.
SS City of Bombay	1937	United Kingdom	7,410	Sunk U-159, 13 December, 02°43′S, 29°06′W, 20† 130 resc.
SS Star of Suez	1926	Egypt	4,999	Sunk U-159, 15 December, 00°42′S, 29°34′W, 2† 40 resc.
SS East Wales	1925	United Kingdom	4,358	Convoy Trin-27, sunk U-159, 16 Dec, 00°24′N, 31°27′W, 17† 28 resc.
SS Chickasaw City	1920	United States	6,296	Sunk, U-172, 7 October, 34°05′S, 17°16′E, 7† 43 resc.
SS Firethorn	1937	Panama	4,700	Sunk U-172, 7 October, 34°13′S, 17°21′E, 12† 49 resc.
SS Pantelis	1911	Greece	3,845	Sunk U-172, 8 October, 34°20′S, 17°50′E, 28† 5 resc.
SS Orcades	1927	United Kingdom	23,456	Sunk U-172, 10 October, 35°51′S, 14°40′E, 48† 1,016 resc.
SS Aldington Court	1929	United Kingdom	4,982	Sunk U-172, 31 October, 30°20′S, 02°10′W, 34† 10 resc.
SS Llandilo	1928	United Kingdom	4,966	Sunk U-172, 2 November, 27°03′S, 02°59′W, 24† 20 resc.
SS Benlomond	1922	United Kingdom	6,630	Sunk U-172, 23 November, 0°30′N, 38°45′W, 55† 1 resc.
SS Alaskan	1918	United States	5,364	Sunk U-172, 28 November, 03°58′N, 26°19′W, 7† 39 resc.
SS Empire Chaucer	1942	United Kingdom	5,970	Sunk U-504, 17 October, 38° 12'S, 20° 04'E, 3† 47 resc.
SS City of Johannesburg	1920	United Kingdom	5,669	Sunk U-504, 23 October, 33°20′S, 29°30′E, 2† 87 resc.
SS Anne Hutchinson	1942	United States	7,176	Sunk U-504, 26 October, 33°10′S, 28°30′E, 3† 54 resc.
SS Empire Guidon	1942	United Kingdom	7,041	Sunk U-504, 31 October, 30° 48'S, 34° 11'E, 2† 52 resc.
SS Reynolds	1927	United Kingdom	5,024	Sunk U-504, 31 October, 30°02′S, 35°02′E, all 47†
SS Porto Alegre	1921	Brazil	5,187	Sunk U-504, 3 November, 35°27′S, 28°02′E, 1†, 57 resc.

U-cruisers

U-cruiser force^[18]
Boat	Name	Flag	Type	Notes
U-177	Robert Gysae	Kriegsmarine	Type IXD2 submarine
U-178	Hans Ibbeken	Kriegsmarine	Type IXD2 submarine
U-179	Ernst Sobe	Kriegsmarine	Type IXD2 submarine	Sunk, 8 October, 33°28′S, 17°05′E, all 67†^[19]
U-181	Wolfgang Lüth	Kriegsmarine	Type IXD2 submarine
Ammiraglio Cagni	Carlo Liannazza	Kingdom of Italy	Cagni-class submarine

U-cruiser attacks

Merchant ships^[20]^[21]
Ship	Year	Flag	GRT	Notes
SS Aegeus	1920	Greece	4,538	Sunk U-177, 2 November, 32°30′S, 16°00′E, all 29†
SS Cerion	1938	United Kingdom	2,558	Damaged U-177, 9 November, 35°58′S, 26°37′E, 2† 44 resc.
SS Scottish Chief	1928	United Kingdom	7,006	Sunk U-177, 19 November, 30°39'S, 34°41'E, 36† 12 resc.
SS Pierce Butler	1942	United States	7,191	Sunk U-177, 20 November, 29°40′S, 36°35′E, all 62 resc.
SS Nova Scotia	1926	United Kingdom	6,796	Sunk U-177, 28°30′S, 33°00′E, 858† 194 resc.
SS Llandaff Castle	1926	United Kingdom	10,799	Sunk U-177, 30 November, 27°20′S, 33°40′E, 3† 310 resc.
SS Saronikos	1912	Greece	3,548	Sunk U-177, 7 December, 24°46′S, 35°30′E, 31† 2 resc.
SS Empire Gull	1919	United Kingdom	6,408	Sunk U-177, 12 December, 26°15′S, 34°40′E, 2† 44 resc.
SS Sawahloento	1921	Netherlands	3,085	Sunk U-177, 14 December, 31°02′S, 34°00′E, 53† 19 resc.
SS Duchess of Atholl	1928	United Kingdom	20,119	Sunk U-178, 10 October, 07°03′S, 11°12′W, 4† 821 resc.
SS Mendoza	1919	United Kingdom	8,233	Sunk U-178, 1 November, 29°20′S, 32°13′E, 26† 380 resc.
SS Hai Hing	1929	Norway	2,561	Sunk U-178, 4 November, 25°55′S, 33°10′E 25† 42 resc.
SS Trekieve	1919	United Kingdom	5,244	Sunk U-178, 4 November, 25°46′S, 33°48′E, 3† 47 resc.
SS Louise Moller	1907	United Kingdom	3,764	Sunk U-178, 13 November, 30°50′S, 35°54′E. 11† 52 resc.
SS Adviser	1939	United Kingdom	6,348	Damaged U-178, 15 November, 32°03′S, 33°52′E, all 66 resc.
SS Jeremiah Wadsworth	1942	United States	7,176	Sunk U-178, 27 November, 39°25′S, 22°23′E, all 57 resc.
SS City of Athens	1923	United Kingdom	6,558	Sunk U-179, 8 October, 33°40′S, 17°03′E, 1† 90 resc.
MV East Indian	1918	United States	8,159	Sunk U-181, 3 November, 37°23′S, 13°34′E, 58† 16 resc.
SS Plaudit	1913	Panama	5,060	Sunk U-181, 8 November, 36°00′S, 26°32′E, 3† 46 resc.
SS K.G. Meldahl	1938	Norway	3,799	Sunk U-181, 10 November, 34°59′S, 29°45′E, 2† 31 resc.
SS Excello	1919	United States	4,969	Sunk U-181, 13 November, 32°23′S, 30°07′E, 2† 49 resc.
SS Gunda	1919	Norway	2,241	Sunk U-181, 19 November, 25°48′S, 33°15′E, 38† 8 resc.
SS Corinthiakos	1910	Greece	3,562	Sunk U-181, 20 November, 25°42′S, 33°27′E, 11† 21 resc.
SS Alcoa Pathfinder	1941	United States	6,797	Sunk U-181, 22 November, 26°45′S, 33°10′E, 6† 55 resc.
SS Mount Helmos	1923	Greece	6,481	Sunk U-181, 24 November, 26°38′S, 34°59′E, 1† 34 resc.
SS Dorington Court	1939	United Kingdom	5,281	Sunk U-181, 24 November, 27 00′S, 34°45′E, 4† 39 resc.
SS Evanthia	1915	Greece	3,551	Sunk U-181, 28 November, 25°13′S, 34°00′E, all 32 resc.
SS Cleanthis	1911	Greece	4,153	Sunk U-181, 30 November, 24°29′S, 35°44′E, 12† 22 resc.
SS Amarylis	1918	Panama	4,328	Sunk U-181, 2 December, 28°14′S, 33°24′E, 29† 8 resc.
SS Dagomba	1928	United Kingdom	3,845	Sunk Ammiraglio Cagni, 3 November, 02°35′S, 18°31′W, 10† 44 resc.
SS Argo	1920	Greece	1,995	Sunk Ammiraglio Cagni, 29 November, 34°45′S, 17°42′E, 18† 18 resc.

Footnotes

^ Hague 2000, p. 142.
^ ^a ^b Roskill 1956, p. 269.
^ ^a ^b ^c Woodman 2005, p. 521.
^ Blair 2000, pp. 73, 57.
^ Blair 2000, pp. 72–73.
^ Blair 2000, p. 72.
^ Jordan 2006, pp. 285, 550.
^ Blair 2000, pp. 72, 57.
^ Woodman 2005, pp. 522–523.
^ Woodman 2005, pp. 526–527.
^ Woodman 2005, pp. 526–528.
^ Woodman 2005, pp. 524–526.
^ Woodman 2005, p. 523.
^ Woodman 2005, p. 528.
^ Woodman 2005, pp. 528, 523.
^ Rohwer & Hümmelchen 2005, p. 191.
^ Jordan 2006, pp. 116, 132, 140, 492, 493, 514.
^ Blair 2000, p. 57.
^ Niestlé 2014, p. 200.
^ Jordan 2006, pp. 130, 492.
^ Helgason 2025.

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