Wolfpack ( naval tactic ) The term wolfpack refers to the mass - attack tactics against convoys used by German U - boat s of the Kriegsmarine during the Battle of the Atlantic and submarine s of the United States Navy against Japan ese shipping in the Pacific Ocean in World War II . German submarines . Karl Dönitz used the term " Rudeltaktik " to describe his strategy of submarine warfare — " Rudeltaktik " translates best as " tactics " of a " pack " of animals and has become known in English as " wolfpack " ( " Wolfsrudel " ) , a more accurate metaphoric , but not literal , translation . Tactics . U - boat movements were controlled by the " Befehlshaber der Unterseeboote " ( BdU ; English translation : " Commander of Submarines " ) much more closely than American submarines , which were given tremendous independence once on patrol . Accordingly , U - boats usually patrolled separately , often strung out in co - ordinated lines across likely convoy routes ( usually merchants and small vulnerable destroyers ) , only being ordered to congregate after one located a convoy and alerted the BdU , so a " Rudel " consisted of as many U - boat s as could reach the scene of the attack . With the exception of the orders given by the BdU , U - Boat commanders could attack as they saw fit . Often the U - Boat commanders were given a probable number of U - Boats that would show up , and then when they were in contact with the convoy , make call signs to see how many had arrived . If their number were sufficiently high compared to the expected threat of the escorts , they would attack . Countermeasures . Although the wolfpacks proved a serious threat to Allied shipping , the Allies developed countermeasures to turn the U - boat organization against itself . Most notably was the fact that wolfpacks required extensive radio communication to coordinate the attacks . This left the U - boats vulnerable to a device called the High Frequency Direction Finder ( HF / DF or " Huff - Duff " ) which allowed Allied naval forces to determine the location of the enemy boats transmitting and attack them . Also , effective air cover , both long - range planes with radar , and escort carrier s and blimps , allowed U - boats to be spotted as they shadowed a convoy ( waiting for the cover of night to attack ) . The destroyers of the Atlantic also used depth charges and other small mines which could be dropped off the ships ' side . American submarines . American wolfpacks , officially called " coordinated attack groups " , usually comprised three boats that patrolled in close company and organized before they left port under the command of the senior captain of the three . " Swede " Momsen devised the tactics and led the first American wolfpack — composed of , , and — from Midway on 1 October 1943 . Cold War . Wolfpacks fell out of use during the Cold War ; modern submarines have far better weapons and underwater speed than those of World War II , so there is no need for them to operate in large groups . Instead , the United States Navy deploys its attack submarines on individual patrols , with the exception of one or ( rarely ) two attack submarines in each carrier group . American ballistic missile submarines have always operated alone . ( Soviet ballistic missile submarines operate in well - protected bastion s . ) However , with the opening shots of the Iraq War in March , 2003 , the term " wolfpack " was brought back into use to describe the fleet of American and British nuclear submarine s which operated together in the Red Sea , firing Tomahawk missiles at Iraqi targets . USS " Providence " was the first boat to fire its entire load of missiles and earn the nickname " Big Dog of the Red Sea Wolf Pack . " Post - Cold War . Recently the phrase " wolfpack " has been applied to possible Iranian missile boat tactics in the event of an hypothetical clash with the U . S . Navy ; a massive attack of small boats armed with missiles and torpedoes on a single ( or a few ) ships in order to overrun or saturate the Aegis defense system ; such attacks allow the possibility of effective suicide boat deployment .