9 December 1941 – 24 May 1943
The Battle of the Atlantic
One of the most immediate effects of the outbreak of war between the United States and Germany was the beginning of an intensive submarine campaign in American coastal waters. German “U-boats” (the “U” stood for untersee, or undersea) immediately began hovering off the East Coast, in many cases within sight of important port cities as New York, Charleston, and Miami. As a result, during the first half of 1942 Allied merchant vessels and troopships entering and leaving U.S. ports suffered staggering losses; U-boats were sinking well over 100 ships each month by the beginning of the summer.

However, this started to change during the latter part of the year. That summer a convoy system was established in American coastal waters, enabling ships to travel in large groups, escorted by destroyers and other naval vessels. By the end of the year U.S. and British code-breakers had managed to unlock the secrets of the German naval code, allowing Allied ships and aircraft to locate and destroy the U-boats. Soon the number of ships sunk dropped off significantly, while the submarines themselves began suffering serious losses. Realizing that their efforts were failing, the German naval command withdrew all U-boats from the North Atlantic in May 1943. The Battle for the Atlantic had been won.

Histories:
Brief Review of the War in the Atlantic up to December 1942
The U-Boat and Allied Naval Communications Intelligence
Winter/Spring U-Boat Offensive and the U-Boats’ Defeat
Battle of the Atlantic

Personal Accounts:
Rutgers Oral History Archives of World War II: Interview with Russell E. Schramm
Rutgers Oral History Archives of World War II: Interview with Gerald Michelson
Lt. Sheridan Bell recalls the sinking of U-233
Lt. Harold G. Bradshaw describes attacks on German submarines
Seaman Second Class Basil D. Izzi recalls the sinking of a Dutch merchant ship by the U-174
Lt. Comm. Dudley S. Knox recalls the sinking of German submarines
Capt. Daniel V. Gallery describes the capture of U-505

Photographs:
Sunset over the Atlantic finds another United Nations convoy moving peacefully towards its destination
Atlantic convoy
A U.S. tanker torpedoed by an Axis submarine
Sinking of U-175