# Wolfpack Eisbär

Gruppe Eisbär (Group Polar Bear) was a force of German U-boats that operated from 23 August 1942 in the South Atlantic during the Second World War. The group was to operate off Cape Town, which was considered to be vulnerable. Some of the most experienced U-boat commanders including Harald Gelhaus, Werner Hartenstein and Carl Emmermann participated in the operation.
During the voyage south, the group temporarily was diverted to attack Convoy SL 119 which had been attacked gruppe Blücher. U-156 sank SS Clan Macwhirter (5,941 GRT) on 27 August and sank the liner SS Laconia on 12 September, which began the Laconia Incident. U-156 was replaced in gruppe Eisbär by U-159 and the group was redirected to the waters around South Africa.
The Allies were preoccupied with Operation Torch and the campaign in north-west Africa, giving priority to the protection of troop convoys that left the Allied navies with few escort vessels to reinforce the South Atlantic Station. Ships were sent to Durban instead of Cape Town and routed far to the south then across the South Atlantic to South America to sail up the east coast and then cross the Atlantic from th US to Britain.

## Background
### Kriegsmarine

From mid-July 1942, to tie down Allied convoy escorts and to sink more ships in distant waters, four to six U-boats and a U-tanker operated in the middle-Atlantic, west of Freetown in Sierra Leone. On 7 August, a U-boat was allowed freedom of manoeuvre to commit reprisals against Brazil for its support of the Allied naval war, despite its neutral status but this gave Brazil a pretext to declare war on 28 August. As in 1941, an extension of operations to the South Atlantic was planned by the Naval War Staff (Seekriegsleitung, SKL) for the summer of 1942, to exert strategic pressure.
The surprise appearance of a U-boat group off South Africa, was to inhibit the transport of Allied reinforcements to the Middle East and interrupt trade with India. To deny the Allies time for counter-measures, SKL wanted to conceal the voyage of the boats to the south for as long as possible. The U-boat commanders received orders to avoid contact with all merchant ships south of the Equator and only to attack valuable targets such as big warships.
Rear-Admiral (Konteradmiral) Karl Dönitz the commander, U-boats (Befehlshaber der U-Boote BdU) disagreed with SKL because the strategic pressure that could be exerted was insufficient justification for a long-range operation. Dönitz wanted priority to remain with the tonnage war, with sinkings as the measure of success. The southern voyage of the boat should be used offensively, as far as 15° South. SKL, basing its strategic calculations on the widening war, refuse to relent until 6 September, when gruppe Eisbär received freedom of action against merchant shipping as far as 5° South.
At a review of naval operations in September 1942, Dönitz described to Hitler the declining prospects for U-boat operations off the east coast of the US, due to the introduction of convoys and increased air reconnaissance. The U-boats were to return to the North Atlantic, the coast of West Africa and to Cape Town in the South Atlantic. In 1941 the Germans had attempted to attack ships around South Africa but were defeated by the interception of German U-boat supply ships. For operations in 1942, Dönitz had available long-range Type IX submarines and supply boats to substitute for commerce raiders used earlier in the war. In mid-August the four Type IXC U-boats of gruppe Eisbär had sailed from France, followed at intervals by a second wave of four of the new and larger Type IXD2 submarines.

### German plan

Dönitz and the commanders due to operate in Gruppe Eisbär intended that around 5 October 1942, U-68 (Karl-Friedrich Merten) and U-172 (Carl Emmermann) would conduct a reconnaissance of Table Bay near Cape Town, getting past the minefield sown by the German commerce raider Doggerbank (Schiff 53 earlier in the year and the defensive minefields laid by the British, using captured charts. In the early hours of 8 October, during the new moon, an attack on the expected fifty ships anchored there would be made. Outside the bay, U-159, U-504 and U-179 would lie in ambush for fleeing ships. The boats might then raid the Indian Ocean, depending on circumstances.

### Royal Navy
#### Submarine Tracking Room

At the tracking room at the Admiralty, Commander Rodger Winn, kept watch over the deployment of U-boats and on 2 August, before the departure of the four Type IXC U-boats of Gruppe Eisbär, Winn speculated that the U-boats off Freetown and a possible move to Ascension Island might foreshadow a move further south. Winn thought that the departure of Gruppe Eisbär and its Milch Cow support boat, was for operations in far waters; Winn guessed that they were bound for the waters off South Africa. The departure of Gruppe Eisbär in mid-August and the sailing at intervals of four of the new and larger U-cruisers of the Type IXD2 class from 21 September, bore out Winn's analysis when SS Laconia was sunk on 12 September and U-156 began signalling for assistance on the international frequency. Survivors rescued by U-boats were transferred to Vichy rescue ships; Winn thought that the attack on Laconia was not conclusive but on 21 September, he warned the Commander-in-Chief South Atlantic, that the arrival of U-boats in the south 'seemed imminent'. On 28 September Winn reported that the whereabouts of the U-boats was unknown but that two fishermen had reported seeing the landing of men from a U-boat about 200 nmi (370 km; 230 mi) north of Cape Town.
In early October, in a blunder by the censor, German news reported that U-boats were operating in the Far East. On 5 October, Winn reported that by mid-October, U-boats might operate in the Mozambique Channel and two days later a ship was sunk off Cape Town. The Admiralty and the Commander-in-Chief South Atlantic had reduced the shipping at Cape Town by making Durban, on the east coast, the last stop for ships bound for Britain from the Indian Ocean. For the duration of Operation Torch (8–12 November), ships were routed far to the south of Cape Town and then north-west to Brazil, Trinidad and the US, to join convoys across the north Atlantic. Unknown to the British, gruppe Eisbär was not going to operate as a rudel (pack) in the South Atlantic but to disperse after the raid on Table Bay.

#### South Atlantic Station

In late 1942, the demands of Operation Torch, especially the duration of the campaign in Algeria and Tunisia, that ended in May 1943 and required more supplies from more convoys, stretched the Allied escort effort. The west Africa–south Africa–east Africa route continued without convoy for much longer; ships were sent on devious courses to evade U-boats but they had eventually to cross the South Atlantic. 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 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.

## 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 Laconia and became involved in the Laconia incident. Dönitz was overruled by Generaladmiral Erich Raeder the Oberbefehlshaber der Kriegsmarine and SKL. 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. 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. The rest of the boats had not fired torpedoes leaving the other Type IXC boats with 22 torpedoes each, the IXD2s with 24 each and Cagni with 42).

## Operations
### Cape Town

On the night of 6/7 October, U-68 which had been in position for five days, photographing the bay. Emmermann in U-172 had a Metox radar detector and moved towards Table Bay on the surface, placing most of the crew on the deck, wearing life jackets, in case a mine was set off. Emmermann kept the boat on the surface for several hours so that the crew could take turns on deck to watch the peaceful scene as the other boats lay in wait outside the bay. The bay was seen to be empty and covered by searchlights and radar, precluding the likelihood of the attack achieving surprise. Emmermann submerged U-172 before dawn and watched through the periscope in brilliant sunshine.
Outside the bay, U-159 sank the British SS Boringia. The captains of U-68 and U-172 contacted BdU to request that the plan be abandoned but Dönitz wanted them to continue. At midnight on 8 October when the attack was due to begin, Cape Town had not been blacked out and the authorities were ignorant of the attack on Boringia. Having received a garbled reply, Emmermann 'assumed that BdU had agreed to the cancellation and that he had freedom of action' from 4:00 a.m. on 7 October.
U-172 sank the US ship SS Chickasaw City and then the Panamanian SS Firethorn. U-172 sank SS Pantelis with a torpedo and U-68 used seven torpedoes to sink the Greek freighter SS Koumoundouros and the Dutch SS Gaasterkirk, both of which managed to transmit distress signals. At dawn the destroyers HMS Active, Arrow and Foxhound and HMAS Nizam, with the corvette HMS Rockrose sailed and spent much of the day rescuing survivors. Every aircraft that was airworthy went aloft to reconnoitre. The next morning, when SS Clan Mactavish tried to rescue the 28 survivors of Boringia it was torpedoed and another seven members of the crew of Boringia were killed along with 53 from Clan Mactavish. Aircraft on anti-submarine patrol guided SS Matheran to the area to rescue survivors who were landed at Cape Town.

### Other attacks

U-159 had gone into action off Cape Town on and sank the US ship SS Coloradan on 9 October then 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. On 7 November, the US ship, SS La Salle, 350 nmi (650 km; 400 mi) to the south-east of the Cape of Good Hope, was destroyed 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 a US schooner, SS Star of Scotland, by gunfire, the survivors making a 1,040 nmi (1,930 km; 1,200 mi)-voyage to Angola.
By this time, U-159 was on the return leg of its voyage and refuelled from U-461 before sailing for 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.
On 8 October, U-172 had sunk the Panamanian MV Firethorn and the Greek 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 a storm. 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.
On 8 October, after U-68 had sunk the Greek Koumoundouros and the Dutch Gaasterkerk, it sank 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.
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.

### U-cruiser attacks

U-178 sank the troopship SS Duchess of Atholl (20,119 GRT) on the voyage to the south by U-178, that rounded the cape and began operations off Durban. After failing to catch a tanker and using two torpedoes to no effect at a freighter, the boat barely escaped an attack from an aircraft. On 1 November the boat attacked and sank what was thought to be SS Laurentic (18,700 GRT) but was the British SS Mendoza (8,200 GRT) in which 150 of the 400 people on board were killed. Ibbeken circumnavigated Madagascar, sinking the Norwegian SS Hai Hing (2,600 GRT) and the 5,200 GRT British ship SS Trekieve but serious engine trouble led to less success than anticipated.
U-177 and U-188 reached Cape Town at about the same time and on 2 November, U-177 attacked the Greek SS Aegeus (4,500 GRT) with four torpedoes, missing with two, but the two that hit set off the cargo of ammunition and the ship exploded, showering the submarine with débris, injuring a lookout. On 3 November, U-181 sank the American SS East Indian with two of four torpedoes, 34 of the crew of fifty being killed. For the next ten days the submarines searched off Cape Town, U-177 attacking the US 2,600 GRT freighter SS Cerion after a five-hour chase and missing with five torpedoes. U-177 surfaced and engaged the ship with its deck gun but the Americans fired back and escaped. U-181 sank SS Plaudit (Panamanian 5,060 GRT) with three crew killed and 46 rescued on 8 November, the Norwegian vessel SS K.G. Meldahl (3,799 GRT) on 10 November and the American SS SS Excello (4969 GRT) on 13 November.
U-179 had not been diverted to Convoy SL 119 and on the afternoon of 8 October, 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 (SAAF). Before night fell SS City of Athens was torpedoed then U-179 dived to 80 m (260 ft) after seeing another aircraft. The crew of the freighter managed to launch all six lifeboats, that were spotted by another Ventura. Many other ships were under attack and sending distress calls but 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.
Ammiraglio Cagni sank the Greek ship SS Argo (2,000 GRT) on 29 November but a greater ASW effort being made off the Cape of Good Hope led the commander, Carlo Liannazza, to sail for home, refuelling near the equator from U-459 and returning to BETASOM (Bordeaux).

## Aftermath
### Analysis

In 2000, Clay Blair called the gruppe Eisbär operation one of the most successful U-boat efforts of the war. Four Type IX boats sank 23 ships (155,335 GRT) off Cape Town and Durban along with eleven ships (60,829 GRT) in transit to and from the cape for a total of 34 ships (216,164 GRT), an average of 8.5 ships (54,041 GRT) per boat, a greater monthly success than the best month of attacks off the US coast. The U-cruisers that operated off Cape Town and Durban sank 27 ships of 161,407 GRT, an average of 6.75 ships per U-boat (40,350 GRT). The ship sunk by Ammiraglio Cagni raised the total to 28 ships and 163,400 GRT.
In 2000, Werner Rahn, a German military historian and one of the authors of Germany and the Second World War (1979 to 2008) wrote that though the British had discovered the southward movement of the boats and had taken such defensive measures as they could, like rerouting, the U-boats sank 15 ships (108,070 GRT) in five days from7 October. By November 156,235 GRT had been sunk, 28 per cent of all U-boat sinkings in October. The U-boats began their return journeys from the South Atlantic in early November. Gruppe Eisbär was followed by a second wave of Type IXD2 U-cruisers, with a range of 31,000 nmi (57,000 km; 36,000 mi) at 10 kn (19 km/h; 12 mph) obviating the need to refuel and take on supplies. The U-cruisers sailed along the African coast into the Indian Ocean as far north as Lourenço Marques (now Maputo) and by mid-December 1942, had sunk 25 ships (134,780 GRT). BdU tried to keep a standing patrol in the area for the next few months but the introduction of convoy made it impossible to maintain the rate of sinkings. Rahn wrote that strategically, Gruppe Eisbär and the U-cruisers were at least six months too late. The sinkings off Cape Town and in the Indian Ocean did little to obstruct the reinforcement of the British in Egypt and the offensive that followed the defence of El Alamein because the bulk of it has already arrived.
In 2005, Richard Woodman wrote that 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 operated individually.

## German order of battle
### Group Polar Bear (Eisbär)

Gruppe Eisbär :
| 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 :
| 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 :
| Boat | Name | Flag | Type | Notes |
| U-177 | Robert Gysae | Kriegsmarine | Type IXD2 submarine | 17 September 1942 to 22 January 1943 |
| U-178 | Hans Ibbeken | Kriegsmarine | Type IXD2 submarine | 8 September 1942 to 9 January 1943 |
| U-179 | Ernst Sobe | Kriegsmarine | Type IXD2 submarine | 15. 8. 1942, sunk, 8. 10. 42, 33°28′S, 17°05′E, 67† |
| U-181 | Wolfgang Lüth | Kriegsmarine | Type IXD2 submarine | 12 September 1942 to 18 January 1943 |
| Ammiraglio Cagni | Carlo Liannazza | Kingdom of Italy | Cagni-class submarine | |

### U-cruiser attacks

Merchant ships :
| 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. |