Roughly 3,500 merchant ships and about 800 Axis submarines were lost in the Atlantic campaign, figures that undercut the image of an all-conquering U-boat arm. German wolf packs relied on patrol lines, long-range reconnaissance, and home-directed coordination to concentrate repeated attacks on convoys. Unlike the highly effective minelayers of the First World War, Germany emphasized ocean-going coordinated attack boats and initially lacked the strength required for the campaign it wanted. Italy or Japan, depending on whether number, tonnage, or capability is measured, may have possessed the Axis's largest submarine fleet when the war began. By the time the German force expanded, the Allies increasingly combined codebreaking, long-range aircraft, Flower-class corvettes, Hunt-class escorts, and a maritime industry already mobilizing before the war.
Chapter · 1:08:58-1:17:43
Wolf packs versus the Atlantic escort system
The Atlantic campaign paired German coordinated patrol lines with Allied codebreaking, long-range aircraft, corvettes, and escort destroyers.
Axis PowersBattle of the AtlanticCoastal CommandCodebreakingCommonwealthConvoy EscortConvoysEscort DestroyersFlower Class CorvettesFocke-Wulf Fw 200 CondorHunt Class DestroyersItalian NavyJapanese NavyLong Range ReconnaissanceMerchant NavyMinelaying SubmarinesNaval Industrial MobilisationSignals IntelligenceSubmarine AttritionSubmarine FleetU-BoatsWolfpacksWorld War II