Wolf pack

2005-11-03T18:32:26Z

128.205.163.96: /* References */

:''This article describes the system of submarine warfare. For other meanings, see [[wolfpack]].''

The term '''wolf pack''' refers to the mass-attack tactics against [[convoy]]s used by the [[submarine]]s of the [[United States Navy]] against [[Japan]]ese shipping in the [[Pacific Ocean]] and by the [[U-boat]]s of the [[Kriegsmarine]] during the [[Second Battle of the Atlantic|Battle of the Atlantic]] in [[World War II]].

[[Karl Dönitz]] used the term ''Rudel'', which means "pack" or group of animals, to describe his strategy of submarine warfare. In [[English language|English]] it became ''wolfpack'' which gave it a more ominous sound.

U-boat movements were controlled by the ''[[Befehlshaber der Unterseeboote]]'' much more closely than American submarines, which were given tremendous independence once on patrol. Accordingly, U-boats usually patrolled separately, only being ordered to congregate after one located a convoy and alerted BdU, so a ''Rudel'' consisted of as many [[U-boat]]s as could reach the scene of the attack. American wolf packs, on the other hand, usually comprised three boats that patrolled in close company, organized before they left port under the command of the senior captain of the three. [[Charles Momsen|"Swede" Momsen]] devised the tactics and led the first American wolf pack to sea in October [[1943]].

Wolf packs fell out of use during the [[Cold War]]; modern submarines being so much more maneuverable and destructive than those of [[World War II]] that there is no need for them to hunt in packs. 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 operated in well-protected [[bastion (submarine)|bastion]]s.) However, with the opening shots of the [[2003 invasion of Iraq]] in March 2003, the term "wolf pack" was brought back into use to describe the fleet of American and British [[nuclear submarine]]s which operated together in the [[Red Sea]] to fire [[BGM-109 Tomahawk|tomahawk missiles]] at [[Iraq]]. [[USS Providence (SSN-719)|''USS Providence'' (SSN-719)]] was the first boat to fire its entire load of missiles and earn the nickname "Big Dog of the Red Sea Wolf Pack."

== References ==
* Karl Dönitz, ''Memoirs: Ten Years and Twenty Days'' (New York: World Publishing Company, 1958)

* Peter Maas, ''The Terrible Hours: The Man Behind the Greatest Submarine Rescue in History'' (HarperCollins New York, 1999)

* E. B. Potter and Chester W. Nimitz, eds; ''Sea Power: A Naval History'' (Englewood Cliffs, N.J.: Prentice-Hall, 1960)

[[Category:Naval warfare]]

[[de:Wolfsrudeltaktik]]

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Wolf pack