Eisbär was a wolf pack of German

Germany

Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...

 U-boat

U-boat

U-boat is the anglicized version of the German word U-Boot , itself an abbreviation of Unterseeboot , and refers to military submarines operated by Germany, particularly in World War I and World War II...

s that operated from 23 to 29 August 1942 in World War II

World War II

World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...

. This pack was assembled to operate in the South Atlantic off Cape Town

Cape Town

Cape Town is the second-most populous city in South Africa, and the provincial capital and primate city of the Western Cape. As the seat of the National Parliament, it is also the legislative capital of the country. It forms part of the City of Cape Town metropolitan municipality...

 which was considered to be virgin waters. Some of the most experienced U-boat commanders available such as Harald Gelhaus

Harald Gelhaus

Harald Gelhaus was a German U-boat commander in World War II and recipient of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross...

, Werner Hartenstein

Werner Hartenstein

Gustav Julius Werner Hartenstein was a Korvettenkapitän with the Kriegsmarine during World War II and commander of . He was also a recipient of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross . The Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross was awarded to recognise extreme battlefield bravery or successful military...

 and Carl Emmermann

Carl Emmermann

Lieutenant Commander Carl Emmermann was a German U-boat commander during World War II. In his time as commander, he succeeded in sinking 27 ships for a total tonnage of .Emmermann began his naval career in 1934...

 were included. They shadowed the Freetown

Freetown

Freetown is the capital and largest city of Sierra Leone, a country in West Africa. It is a major port city on the Atlantic Ocean located in the Western Area of the country, and had a city proper population of 772,873 at the 2004 census. The city is the economic, financial, and cultural center of...

, Sierra Leone

Sierra Leone

Sierra Leone , officially the Republic of Sierra Leone, is a country in West Africa. It is bordered by Guinea to the north and east, Liberia to the southeast, and the Atlantic Ocean to the west and southwest. Sierra Leone covers a total area of and has an estimated population between 5.4 and 6.4...

 to Liverpool

Liverpool

Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough of Merseyside, England, along the eastern side of the Mersey Estuary. It was founded as a borough in 1207 and was granted city status in 1880...

 Convoy SL-119, and sank only one ship for a total of .

U-boats, commanders and dates

, Karl-Friedrich Merten

Karl-Friedrich Merten

Captain Karl-Friedrich Merten was a German U-boat commander during World War II. He is credited with the sinking of 27 ships for a total of of allied shipping. For this achievement he was awarded the Knight's Cross with Oak Leaves...

, 25 August–1 September, Werner Hartenstein

Werner Hartenstein

Gustav Julius Werner Hartenstein was a Korvettenkapitän with the Kriegsmarine during World War II and commander of . He was also a recipient of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross . The Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross was awarded to recognise extreme battlefield bravery or successful military...

, 25 August–1 September, Carl Emmermann

Carl Emmermann

Lieutenant Commander Carl Emmermann was a German U-boat commander during World War II. In his time as commander, he succeeded in sinking 27 ships for a total tonnage of .Emmermann began his naval career in 1934...

, 25 August–1 September, Georg von Wilamowitz-Möllendorf, 25 August–1 September, Hans-Georg Friedrich Poske

Fritz Poske

Hans-Georg Friedrich "Fritz" Poske was a German U-boat commander in World War II and recipient of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross . The Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross was awarded to recognise extreme battlefield bravery or successful military leadership...

, 25 August–1 September

Clan Macwhirter

At 01.00 hours on 27 Aug, 1942, the unescorted 5,941 ton British merchant ship , a straggler from Convoy SL-119, was torpedoed and sunk by U-156 200 miles north-west of Madeira

Madeira

Madeira is a Portuguese archipelago that lies between and , just under 400 km north of Tenerife, Canary Islands, in the north Atlantic Ocean and an outermost region of the European Union...

.