Wolfpack Leuthen

Leuthen was the given name to a wolfpack of German U-boats that operated during the World War II Battle of the Atlantic in 1943 from 15 September 1943 to 24 September 1943[1]

Wolf pack Leuthen
Active15 Sep 1943 - 24 Sep 1943
Country Nazi Germany
BranchKriegsmarine
Size20 submarines
Commanders
Notable
commanders		Siegfried Freiherr von Forstner

Service history

Leuthen was formed in September 1943 and was established to renew the attack on the North Atlantic route. Following the defeats of May 1943, and the devastating losses incurred by the U-boat Arm (U-Bootwaffe, UBW) then, Admiral Dönitz had withdrawn from attacks on the North Atlantic route while awaiting tactical and technical improvements. By September 1943 these were ready.

Leuthen operated against convoys ONS 18 and ON 202, which were travelling together; U-boats from Leuthen sank 6 ships of 36,442 GRT and 3 escorts in this battle, but lost 3 boats ( U-229, U-338, and U-341) destroyed, and 3 forced to return with damage, in attacks by aircraft and surface vessels.

Leuthen was disbanded after this assault, at the end of September; of the remaining 15 boats, 3 returned to base and 12 formed the core of a new patrol line, code-named Rossbach.

Raiding History
Date U-boat Commander Name of ship Nationality Tons Convoy Fate
20 September 1943 U-238 Horst Hepp Frederick Douglass  United States 7,176 ON-202 Damaged
20 September 1943 U-645 Otto Ferro Frederick Douglass  United States 7,176 ON-202 Sunk
20 September 1943 U-305 Rudolf Bahr HMCS St. Croix  Royal Canadian Navy 1,190 ON-202 Sunk
20 September 1943 U-270 Paul-Friedrich Otto HMS Lagan  Royal Navy 1,370 ON-202 Total loss
20 September 1943 U-238 Horst Hepp Theodore Dwight Weld  United States 7,176 ON-202 Sunk
21 September 1943 U-952 Oskar Curio HMS Polyanthus  Royal Navy 925 ON-202 Sunk
23 September 1943 U-238 Horst Hepp Fort Jemseg  United Kingdom 7,134 ON-202 Sunk
23 September 1943 U-666 Herbert Engel HMS Itchen  Royal Navy 1,370 ON-202 Sunk
23 September 1943 U-952 Oskar Curio James Gordon Bennett  United States 7,176 ON-202 Damaged
23 September 1943 U-238 Horst Hepp Oregon Express  Norway 3,642 ON-202 Sunk
23 September 1943 U-238 Horst Hepp Skjelbred  Norway 5,096 ON-202 Sunk
23 September 1943 U-952 Oskar Curio Steel Voyager  United States 6,198 ON-202 Sunk

U-boats
U-boat Commander From To Notes
U-229 Robert Schetelig 15 September 1943 23 September 1943 Destroyed; depth-charge, gunfire and ramming by HMS Keppel
U-238 Horst Hepp[2] 15 September 1943 24 September 1943 Returned to base
U-260 Hubertus Purkhold[3] 15 September 1943 24 September 1943 to group Rossbach
U-270 Paul-Friedrich Otto[4] 15 September 1943 23 September 1943 Returned to base
U-275 Helmut Bork[5] 15 September 1943 24 September 1943 to group Rossbach
U-305 Rudolf Bahr[6] 15 September 1943 24 September 1943 to group Rossbach
U-338 Manfred Kinzel[7] 15 September 1943 20 September 1943 Destroyed; Liberator F/120Sqdn, HMCS Drumheller
U-341 Dietrich Epp[8] 15 September 1943 19 September 1943 Destroyed; depth-charge by Liberator A/10Sqdn RCAF
U-377 Gerhard Kluth[9] 15 September 1943 22 September 1943 Returned to base
U-378 Erich Mäder[10] 15 September 1943 24 September 1943 to group Rossbach
U-386 Fritz Albrecht[11] 15 September 1943 21 September 1943 Returned to base
U-402 Siegfried von Forstner[12] 15 September 1943 24 September 1943 to group Rossbach
U-422 Wolfgang Poeschel[13] 15 September 1943 24 September 1943 Returned to base; destroyed en route 4 October 1943
U-584 Joachim Deecke[14] 15 September 1943 24 September 1943 to group Rossbach
U-603 Rudolf Baltz[15] 15 September 1943 24 September 1943 to group Rossbach
U-641 Horst Rendtel[16] 15 September 1943 24 September 1943 to group Rossbach
U-645 Otto Ferro[17] 15 September 1943 24 September 1943 to group Rossbach
U-666 Herbert Engel[18] 15 September 1943 24 September 1943 to group Rossbach
U-731 Werner Techand[19] 15 September 1943 24 September 1943 to group Rossbach
U-758 Helmut Manseck[20] 15 September 1943 24 September 1943 to group Rossbach
U-952 Oskar Curio[21] 15 September 1943 24 September 1943 to group Rossbach

The name

The name "Leuthen" was a reference to the battle of Leuthen fought by Frederick the Great during the Seven Years' War.

References
  1. "Wolfpack Leuthen". uboat.net. Retrieved 31 May 2015.
  2. "Horst Hepp". u-boat.net. Retrieved 31 May 2015.
  3. "Hubertus Purkhold". u-boat.net. Retrieved 31 May 2015.
  4. "Paul-Friedrich Otto". u-boat.net. Retrieved 31 May 2015.
  5. "Helmut Bork". u-boat.net. Retrieved 31 May 2015.
  6. "Rudolf Bahr". u-boat.net. Retrieved 31 May 2015.
  7. "Manfred Kinzel". u-boat.net. Retrieved 31 May 2015.
  8. "Dietrich Epp". u-boat.net. Retrieved 31 May 2015.
  9. "Gerhard Kluth". u-boat.net. Retrieved 31 May 2015.
  10. "Erich Mäder". u-boat.net. Retrieved 31 May 2015.
  11. "Fritz Albrecht". u-boat.net. Retrieved 31 May 2015.
  12. "Siegfried von Forstner (Knight's Cross)". u-boat.net. Retrieved 31 May 2015.
  13. "Wolfgang Poeschel". u-boat.net. Retrieved 31 May 2015.
  14. "Joachim Deecke". u-boat.net. Retrieved 31 May 2015.
  15. "Rudolf Baltz". u-boat.net. Retrieved 31 May 2015.
  16. "Horst Rendtel". u-boat.net. Retrieved 31 May 2015.
  17. "Otto Ferro". u-boat.net. Retrieved 31 May 2015.
  18. "Herbert Engel". u-boat.net. Retrieved 31 May 2015.
  19. "Werner Techand". u-boat.net. Retrieved 31 May 2015.
  20. "Helmut Manseck". u-boat.net. Retrieved 31 May 2015.
  21. "Oskar Curio". u-boat.net. Retrieved 31 May 2015.

Bibliography
  • Showell, Jak P M (2002). U-Boat Warfare: The Evolution of the Wolf-Pack. ISBN 0-7110-2887-7.
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