Wolfpack West

West was a wolfpack of German U-boats that operated during the World War II Battle of the Atlantic from 8 May 1941 to 20 June 1941.^[1]

Wolfpack West
Active	8 May - 20 June 1941
Country	Nazi Germany
Branch	Kriegsmarine
Size	23 submarines
Engagements	Convoy OB 317 Convoy OB 318 Convoy OB 322 Convoy OB 327 Convoy OB 328 Convoy OB 329 Convoy OB 330 Convoy SC 30 Convoy HX 126 Convoy HX 128
Commanders
Notable commanders	Gerhard Bigalk Engelbert Endrass Robert Gysae Eitel-Friedrich Kentrat Wilhelm Kleinschmidt Claus Korth Herbert Kuppisch Fritz-Julius Lemp Wolfgang Lüth Ernst Mengersen Adalbert Schnee Klaus Scholtz Heinrich Schonder Herbert Schultze Robert Gysae Karl Thurmann Helmut Rosenbaum Herbert Wohlfarth Robert-Richard Zapp

This wolfpack was responsible for sinking 33 ships (191,414 gross register tons (GRT)) and damaging a further four ships (33,448 GRT), making it one of the most successful wolfpacks of World War II.

Raiding Summary

Date	U-boat	Name of ship	Nationality	Tons	Convoy	Comments
8 May 1941	U-97	Ramillies	United Kingdom	4,553	OB 317	Sunk
9 May 1941	U-110	Bengore Head	United Kingdom	2,609	OB 318	Sunk
9 May 1941	U-201	Empire Cloud	United Kingdom	5,969	OB 318	Damaged
9 May 1941	U-110	Esmond	United Kingdom	4,976	OB 318	Sunk
9 May 1941	U-201	Gregalia	United Kingdom	5,802	OB 318	Sunk
10 May 1941	U-556	Aelybryn	United Kingdom	4,986	OB 318	Damaged
10 May 1941	U-556	Empire Caribou	United Kingdom	4,861	OB 318	Sunk
10 May 1941	U-556	Gand	Belgium	5,086	OB 318	Sunk
13 May 1941	U-98	HMS Salopian	Royal Navy	10,549	SC 30	Sunk
13 May 1941	U-111	Somersby	United Kingdom	5,170	SC 30	Sunk
20 May 1941	U-556	British Security	United Kingdom	8,470	HX 126	Sunk
20 May 1941	U-556	Cockaponset	United Kingdom	5,995	HX 126	Sunk
20 May 1941	U-556	Darlington Court	United Kingdom	4,974	HX 126	Sunk
20 May 1941	U-109	Harpagus	United Kingdom	5,173	HX 126	Sunk
20 May 1941	U-94	John P. Pedersen	Norway	6,128	HX 126	Sunk
20 May 1941	U-94	Norman Monarch	United Kingdom	4,718	HX 126	Sunk
20 May 1941	U-98	Rothermere	United Kingdom	5,356	HX 126	Sunk
20 May 1941	U-111	San Felix	United Kingdom	13,037	OB 322	Damaged
21 May 1941	U-93	Elusa	Netherlands	6,235	HX 126	Sunk
21 May 1941	U-98	Marconi	United Kingdom	7,402	OB 322	Sunk
22 May 1941	U-111	Barnby	United Kingdom	4,813	HX 126	Sunk
29 May 1941	U-557	Empire Storm	United Kingdom	7,290	HX 128	Sunk
2 June 1941	U-108	Michael E.	United Kingdom	7,628	OB 327	Sunk
3 June 1941	U-75	Eibergen	Netherlands	4,801	OB 327	Sunk
3 June 1941	U-48	Inversuir	United Kingdom	9,456	OB 327	Damaged
3 June 1941	U-75	Inversuir	United Kingdom	9,456	OB 327	Sunk
4 June 1941	U-101	Trecarrell	United Kingdom	5,271	OB 327	Sunk
5 June 1941	U-48	Wellfield	United Kingdom	6,054	OB 328	Sunk
6 June 1941	U-48	Tregarthen	United Kingdom	5,201	OB 329	Sunk
6 June 1941	U-43	Yselhaven	Netherlands	4,802	OB 328	Sunk
8 June 1941	U-108	Baron Nairn	United Kingdom	3,164	OB 328	Sunk
8 June 1941	U-108	Dirphys	Greece	4,240		Sunk
8 June 1941	U-48	Pendrecht	Netherlands	10,746	OB 329	Sunk
9 June 1941	U-101	Trevarrack	United Kingdom	5,270	OB 329	Sunk
10 June 1941	U-108	Christian Krohg	Norway	1,992	OB 329	Sunk
10 June 1941	U-204	Mercier	Belgium	7,886	OB 330	Sunk
13 June 1941	U-77	Tresillian	United Kingdom	4,743	OB 330	Sunk

U-Boats

Of the 23 U-boat commanders, 19 were either, or went on to become, recipients of the Knight’s Cross of the Iron Cross.

U-boat	Commander	From	To	Notes
U-43	Wolfgang Lüth	17 May 1941	16 June 1941
U-46	Engelbert Endrass	19 May 1941	6 June 1941
U-48	Herbert Schultze	2 June 1941	8 June 1941
U-66	Robert-Richard Zapp	24 May 1941	5 June 1941
U-73	Helmut Rosenbaum	31 May 1941	16 June 1941
U-74	Eitel-Friedrich Kentrat	13 May 1941	22 May 1941
U-75	Helmuth Ringelmann	2 June 1941	20 June 1941
U-77	Heinrich Schonder	6 June 1941	20 June 1941
U-93	Claus Korth	8 May 1941	26 May 1941
U-94	Herbert Kuppisch	8 May 1941	29 May 1941
U-97	Udo Heilmann	8 May 1941	27 May 1941
U-98	Robert Gysae	8 May 1941	27 May 1941
U-101	Ernst Mengersen	2 June 1941	20 June 1941
U-108	Klaus Scholtz	2 June 1941	20 June 1941
U-109	Hans-Georg Fischer	13 May 1941	23 May 1941
U-110	Fritz-Julius Lemp	9 May 1941	9 May 1941	U-boat was lost
U-111	Wilhelm Kleinschmidt	13 May 1941	5 June 1941
U-201	Adalbert Schnee	8 May 1941	13 May 1941
U-204	Walter Kell	5 June 1941	16 June 1941
U-553	Karl Thurmann	13 June 1941	20 June 1941
U-556	Herbert Wohlfarth	10 May 1941	20 May 1941
U-557	Ottokar Arnold Paulssen	25 May 1941	20 June 1941
U-751	Gerhard Bigalk	16 June 1941	20 June 1941