The second happy time was a phase in the Second Battle of the Atlantic during which Axis submarines attacked merchant shipping along the east coast of North America. The first "Happy time" had been in 1940/41. Combatants Royal Navy Royal Canadian Navy United States Navy Kriegsmarine Regia Marina Commanders Sir Percy Noble Sir Max K. Horton Ernest J. King Erich Raeder Karl Dönitz Casualties 30,248 merchant sailors 3,500 merchant vessels 175 warships 28,000 sailors 783 submarines The Second Battle of the Atlantic... This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ... USS Virginia, a Virginia-class nuclear attack (SSN) submarine Alvin in 1978, a year after first exploring hydrothermal vents. ... In most seafaring countries, the merchant marine (or merchant navy) is a fleet of ships used for commerce that sometimes complements the navy. ... North America North America is a continent[1] in the Earths northern hemisphere and (chiefly) western hemisphere. ... Combatants Royal Navy Royal Canadian Navy United States Navy Kriegsmarine Regia Marina Commanders Sir Percy Noble Sir Max K. Horton Ernest J. King Erich Raeder Karl Dönitz Casualties 30,248 merchant sailors 3,500 merchant vessels 175 warships 28,000 sailors 783 submarines The Second Battle of the Atlantic...

It lasted from January 1942 to about August of that year. German submariners named it the happy time or the golden time as defence measures were weak and disorganised, and the U-boats were able to inflict massive damage with little risk. During the second happy time, Axis submarines sank 609 ships totaling 3.1 million tons for the loss of only 22 U-boats. This was roughly one quarter of all shipping sunk by U-boats during the entire Second World War, and constituted by far the most serious defeat ever suffered by the US Navy. Combatants Allied powers: China France Great Britain Soviet Union United States and others Axis powers: Germany Italy Japan and others Commanders Chiang Kai-shek Charles de Gaulle Winston Churchill Joseph Stalin Franklin Roosevelt Adolf Hitler Benito Mussolini Hideki Tōjō Casualties Military dead: 17,000,000 Civilian dead: 33,000... USN redirects here. ...

Background

When Hitler declared war against the United States on December 11, 1941, that country was in a fortunate position. Where the other combatants had already lost thousands of trained sailors and airmen, and were experiencing shortages of ships and aircraft, the USA was at full strength. America had had the opportunity to learn about modern naval warfare by observing the conflicts in the North Sea and the Mediterranean, and through a close relationship with the United Kingdom. The US Navy had already gained significant experience countering U-boats in the Atlantic, particularly from April 1941 when President Roosevelt extended the 'Pan-American Security Zone' east almost as far as Iceland. The United States had massive manufacturing capacity, including certainly the largest and possibly the most advanced electronics industry in the world. Finally, the USA had a favourable geographical position from a defensive point of view: the port of New York, for example, was 3000 miles to the west of the U-boat bases in Brittany. Hitler redirects here. ... December 11 is the 345th day of the year (346th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... For the movie, see 1941 (film). ... The North Sea is a sea of the Atlantic Ocean, located between the coasts of Norway and Denmark in the east, the coast of the British Isles in the west, and the German, Dutch, Belgian and French coasts in the south. ... The Mediterranean Sea is an intercontinental sea positioned between Europe to the north, Africa to the south and Asia to the east, covering an approximate area of 2. ... FDR redirects here. ... “NY” redirects here. ... U-boat is also a nickname for some diesel locomotives built by GE; see List of GE locomotives October 1939. ... Historical province of Brittany, showing the main areas with their name in Breton language The traditional flag of Brittany (the Gwenn-ha-du), formerly a Breton nationalist symbol but today used as a general civic flag in the region. ...

U-boat commander Dönitz, however, saw the entry of the US into the war as a golden opportunity to strike heavy blows in the tonnage war. The German Navy no longer had its surface tankers in the North Atlantic to refuel submarines (these had been sunk by Allied forces after Ultra intelligence revealed their locations) and the standard Type VII U-boat had insufficient range to patrol off the coast of North America, so the only weapons Dönitz had on hand were the larger Type IX boats. These, however, were less maneuverable and slower to submerge, making them much more vulnerable than the Type VIIs, and few in number. Karl Dönitz (IPA pronunciation:  ); September 16, 1891–December 24, 1980) was a German naval leader, who was in command of the Kriegsmarine during World War II and was President of Germany for 23 days after Adolf Hitlers suicide. ... A tonnage war is a military strategy aimed at merchant shipping. ... Ultra (sometimes capitalized ULTRA) was the name used by the British for intelligence resulting from decryption of German communications in World War II. The term eventually became the standard designation in both Britain and the United States for all intelligence from high-level cryptanalytic sources. ... Type VII U-boats were the workhorses of the German World War II U-boot-waffe, and appeared in several sub-types. ... North America North America is a continent[1] in the Earths northern hemisphere and (chiefly) western hemisphere. ... The Type IX U-boat was designed by Germany in 1935 and 1936 as a large ocean-going submarine for sustained operations far from the home support facilities. ...

Opening moves

Immediately after war was declared with the United States, Dönitz began to implement operation Paukenschlag ("drumbeat"), requesting that 12 Type IX U-boats be made available for it. The Naval Staff in Berlin, however, insisted on retaining 6 of the precious Type IX boats for the Mediterranean theatre (where they could achieve little) and one of the remaining 6 encountered mechanical troubles. This left just 5 long-range submarines for the opening moves of the campaign. This article is about the capital of Germany. ...

Loaded with the maximum possible amounts of fuel, food and ammunition, the first of the five Type IXs left Lorient on 18 December 1941, the others following over the next few days. Each carried sealed orders to be opened after passing 20°W, and directing them to different parts of the North American coast. No charts or sailing directions were available: Kapitanleutnant Reinhard Hardegen of U-123, for example, was provided with two tourist guides to New York, one of which contained a fold-out map of the harbour. This article is about The place Lorient in France. ... is the 352nd day of the year (353rd in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... For the movie, see 1941 (film). ... Reinhard Hardegen (b. ... Unterseeboot 123 was a Type IXB U-boat of the Kriegsmarine. ...

Each U-boat made routine signals on exiting the Bay of Biscay, which were picked up by the British Y service and plotted in Rodger Winn's London Submarine Tracking Room, which was then able to follow the progress of the Type IXs across the Atlantic, and cable an early warning to the Royal Canadian Navy. Working on the slimmest of evidence, Winn correctly deduced the target area and passed a detailed warning to Admiral Ernest King in the USA of a "heavy concentration of U-boats off the North American seaboard", including the five boats already on station and further groups already in transit, 21 U-boats in all. Rear-Admiral Frank Leighton of the US Combined Operations and Intelligence Center then informed the responsible area commanders, but little or nothing was done. Map of the Bay of Biscay. ... For history after 1968, see Canadian Forces Maritime Command The Royal Canadian Navy (RCN) was the navy of Canada from 1911 until 1968 when the three Canadian armed services were unified to form the Canadian Forces. ... Admiral Ernest Joseph King (November 23, 1878 - June 25, 1956) was the Commander in Chief of the United States Navy during World War II. As such, he was Chester Nimitzs immediate superior but himself was subordinate to Secretary of the Navy James Forrestal. ...

The primary target area was the "North Atlantic Coastal Frontier", commanded by Rear-Admiral Adolphus Andrews and covering the area from Maine to North Carolina. Andrews had practically no modern forces to work with: on the water he commanded seven Coast Guard cutters, four converted yachts, three 1919-vintage patrol boats, two gunboats dating to 1905, and four wooden submarine chasers. About 100 aircraft were available, but these were short-range models only suitable for training. As a consequence of the traditionally antagonistic relationship between the US Navy and the Army Air Forces, all larger aircraft remained under Air Force control, and in any case the Air Force was neither trained nor equipped for anti-submarine work. Official language(s) None (English and French de facto) Capital Augusta Largest city Portland Area  Ranked 39th  - Total 33,414 sq mi (86,542 km²)  - Width 210 miles (338 km)  - Length 320 miles (515 km)  - % water 13. ... Official language(s) English Capital Raleigh Largest city Charlotte Area  Ranked 28th  - Total 53,865 sq mi (139,509 km²)  - Width 150 miles (240 km)  - Length 560[1] miles (901 km)  - % water 9. ... The United States Army Air Forces (USAAF) was the aviation component of the United States Army primarily during World War II. The title of Army Air Forces succeeded the prior name of Army Air Corps in June 1941 during preparation for expected combat in what came to be known as...

The American response

British experience in the first two years of World War II, which included the horrendous losses incurred to British shipping during the "First Happy Time" confirmed that ships sailing in convoy—with or without escort— were far safer than ships sailing alone. Obvious standard routings should be avoided wherever possible; navigational markers, lighthouses, and other aids to the enemy should be removed, and a strict blackout enforced. None of this was attempted. Coastal shipping continued to sail along marked routes and burn normal steaming lights. On 12 January 1942 Admiral Andrews was warned that three or four U-boats were about to commence operations against coastal shipping, but refused to institute a convoy system on the grounds that this would only provide the U-boats with more targets. Combatants Royal Navy Royal Canadian Navy United States Navy Kriegsmarine Regia Marina Commanders Sir Percy Noble Sir Max K. Horton Ernest J. King Erich Raeder Karl Dönitz Casualties 30,248 merchant sailors 3,500 merchant vessels 175 warships 28,000 sailors 783 submarines The Second Battle of the Atlantic... A convoy is a group of vehicles traveling together for mutual support. ... is the 12th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1942 (MCMXLII) was a common year starting on Thursday (the link will display the full 1942 calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ...

Despite the urgent need for action, little was done to try to stop the sinkings. The USN was desperately short of anti-submarine vessels, partly because of President Roosevelt's 1941 decision to loan fifty obsolete World War I-era destroyers to Britain in exchange for foreign bases, partly because the massive new naval construction programme had prioritised other types, and partly because the destroyers that remained were assigned to trans-Atlantic convoy escort and not under Andrews' command. No less than 25 Atlantic Convoy Escort Command Destroyers were on the US east coast at the time of the first attacks, including seven at anchor in New York Harbour. Yet when U-123 sank the 9,500 ton Norwegian tanker Norness within sight of Long Island in the early hours of 14 January, none were dispatched to investigate, allowing the U-123 to sink the 6,700 ton British tanker Coimbra off Sandy Hook on the following night before proceeding south towards New Jersey. By this time there were 13 destroyers idle in New York Harbour, yet still none were employed to deal with the immediate threat, and over the following nights U-123 was presented with a succession of easy targets, most of them burning navigation lamps. i love my mother The Destroyers for Bases Agreement between the United States and the United Kingdom, September 2, 1940, transferred fifty destroyers from the United States Navy in exchange for land rights on British possessions. ... Unterseeboot 123 was a Type IXB U-boat of the Kriegsmarine. ... Map showing Long Island; to the north is Connecticut and to the west are New York City and New Jersey. ... is the 14th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... Sandy Hook is the name of several places in the United States of America: Sandy Hook, Connecticut Sandy Hook, Kentucky Sandy Hook, Mississippi Sandy Hook, on the coast of New Jersey (See also Sandy. ... Official language(s) English de facto Capital Trenton Largest city Newark Area  Ranked 47th  - Total 8,729 sq mi (22,608 km²)  - Width 70 miles (110 km)  - Length 150 miles (240 km)  - % water 14. ...

For the five Type IX boats in the first wave of Operation Drumbeat, it was a bonanza. They cruised along the coast, safely submerged through the days, and surfacing at night to pick off merchant vessels outlined against the lights of the cities.

• Reinhard Hardegen in U-123 sank seven ships totalling 46,744 tons before he ran out of torpedoes and returned to base,
• Ernst Kals in U-130 sank six ships of 36,988 tons,
• Richard Zapp in U-66 sank five ships of 33,456 tons, and
• Heinrich Bleichrodt in U-109 sank four ships of 27,651 tons.
• Ulrich Folkers on his first patrol in U-125 sank only a single 6,666 ton vessel, for which he was criticised by Dönitz (though he would later win the Knight's Cross.)

When the first wave U-boats returned to port in early February, Dönitz wrote that the commander "had such an abundance of opportunities for attack that he could not by any means utilise them all: there were times when there were up to ten ships in sight, sailing with all lights burning on peacetime courses". Reinhard Hardegen (b. ... Unterseeboot 123 was a Type IXB U-boat of the Kriegsmarine. ... Unterseeboot 66 (usually abbreviated to U-66) was a German Type IXC U-boat built during World War II. U-66 was one of the most successful boats, succeeding in sinking over 200,000 tons of allied shipping in 9 patrols, a career lasting more than three years. ... Unterseebooot 125 was a Type IXC U-boat of the Nazi Kriegsmarine. ... The Iron Cross (German: Eisernes Kreuz) is a military decoration of Germany which was established by King Friedrich Wilhelm III of Prussia and first awarded on 10 March 1813. ...

A significant failure in US pre-war planning was lack of any ships suitable for convoy escort work. Escort vessels travel at relatively slow speeds, carry a large number of depth-charges, must be highly maneouvreable and must stay on station for long periods. Fleet destroyers are equipped for high speed and offensive action and not the ideal design for this type of work. There was no equivalent of the British Black Swan class sloops or the River class frigate in the U.S. inventory when the war started. This oversight was further aggravated by the loss of the destroyers given Britain through Lend-Lease. The Black Swan class and Modified Black Swan class were two classes of sloop of the Royal Navy and Royal Indian Navy. ... The River class frigates were 151 frigates launched in 1941–1944. ...

By this time, the second wave of Type IX U-boats had arrived in American waters, and the third wave had reached its patrol area off the oil ports of the Caribbean. With such easy pickings available and all Type IX U-boats already committed, Dönitz began sending shorter-range Type VII U-boats to the US East Coast as well. This required extraordinary measures: cramming every conceivable space with provisions, filling the fresh water tanks with diesel oil, and crossing the Atlantic at very low speed on a single engine to conserve fuel. PD, from US Navy archives File history Legend: (cur) = this is the current file, (del) = delete this old version, (rev) = revert to this old version. ... Unterseeboot 571 (U-571) was a Type VIIC submarine of the Kriegsmarine. ... “West Indian” redirects here. ... Type VII U-boats were the workhorses of the German World War II U-boot-waffe, and appeared in several sub-types. ...

In the United States there was still no concerted response to the attacks. Overall responsibility rested with Admiral King, but King was preoccupied with the Japanese onslaught in the Pacific. Admiral Andrews' North Atlantic Coastal Frontier was expanded to take in South Carolina and renamed the Eastern Sea Frontier, but most of the ships and aircraft needed remained under the command of Admiral Royal E. Ingersoll, Commander-in-Chief, Atlantic Fleet, who was often at sea and unavailable to make decisions. Rodger Wynn's detailed weekly U-boat situation reports from the Submarine Tracking Room in London were available but ignored. It has been suggested that Greater East Asia War in the Pacific be merged into this article or section. ... Official language(s) English Capital Charleston(1670-1789) Columbia(1790-present) Largest city Columbia Largest metro area Columbia Area  Ranked 40th  - Total 34,726 sq mi (82,965 km²)  - Width 200 miles (320 km)  - Length 260 miles (420 km)  - % water 6  - Latitude 32° 2′ N to 35° 13′ N  - Longitude...

Popular alarm at the sinkings was dealt with by a combination of secrecy and misleading propaganda. The Navy confidently announced that many of the U-boats would "never enjoy the return portion of their voyage" but that, unfortunately, details of the sunken U-boats could not be made public lest the information aid the enemy. All citizens who had witnessed the sinking of a U-boat were asked to help keep the secrets safe.

The first sinking of a U-boat by a US Navy ship off the coast of the US did not occur until April 14, 1942, when the destroyer USS Roper sank the U-85. It has come to light in recent years that the famous "Loose Lips Sink Ships" propaganda campaign in the US that started in 1942 was not so much designed to deny German agents knowledge of vessels' sailing times (there were no such agents anyway) but rather to keep American civilian morale high by reducing communication about how much shipping was being sunk during Operation Drumbeat. April 14 is the 104th day of the year (105th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar, with 261 days remaining. ... Year 1942 (MCMXLII) was a common year starting on Thursday (the link will display the full 1942 calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... USS Roper (DD-147) was a Wickes-class destroyer in the United States Navy, later converted to a high-speed transport and redesignated APD-20. ... Unterseeboot 85 or U-85 was a German World War II Type VIIB submarine commissioned on 7 June 1941. ... Soviet Propaganda Poster during the World War II. The text reads Red Army Fighter, SAVE US! Chinese propaganda poster from during the Cultural Revolution. ...

Counter measures get under way

The decision to implement convoys and blackout coastal towns to make ships more difficult to see came slowly. The situation began to change in April when Andrews implemented a limited convoy system in which ships traveled only during daylight hours. Full convoys were in operation by mid-May, resulting in an immediate reduction of Allied shipping losses off the East Coast as Dönitz withdrew the U-boats to seek easier pickings elswhere. The convoy system was later extended to the Gulf of Mexico with similar dramatic effects, thus proving that King's initial rejection of the convoy system was wrong. This article or section does not adequately cite its references or sources. ...

In March, 24 Royal Navy anti-submarine trawlers and 10 corvettes were transferred from the UK for the defence of the US East Coast. The British also transferred 53 Squadron, RAF Coastal Command to Quonset Point, Rhode Island to protect New York Harbor during July 1942. This squadron moved to Trinidad in August, with a U.S. squadron, to protect the critical sea lanes from the Venezuelan oil fields and then back to Norfolk, Virginia until the end of 1942. Royal Navy ships took over escort duties in the Caribbean and on the Aruba - New York tanker run. Coastal Command was an organization within the Royal Air Force tasked with protecting the United Kingdom from naval threats. ... Quonset Point is a small peninsula in Narragansett Bay. ... New York Harbor, a geographic term, refers collectively to the rivers, bays, and tidal estuaries near the mouth of the Hudson River in the vicinity of New York City. ... Look up Trinidad in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... Motto: Crescas (Latin for, Thou shalt grow. ...

The Kriegsmarine, while enormously effective during this period, did not go without losses. Sinkings of German U-boats at the hands of United States forces during this time included:

• U-85: sunk 14 April by destroyer USS Roper off Cape Hatteras, first sinking in US waters
• U-352: sunk 9 May by cutter USCGC Icarus off Cape Hatteras
• U-157: sunk 13 June by cutter USCGC Thetis off Havana, Cuba
• U-158: sunk 30 June by Mariner aircraft (USN VP-74) west of the Bermudas
• U-215: sunk 3 July by Armed ASW Trawler HMS Le Tiger in position 41.48N, 66.38W by depth charges
• U-701: sunk 7 July by Lockheed Hudson aircraft off Cape Hatteras
• U-153: sunk 13 July by destroyer USS Lansdowne off Colón, Panama
• U-576: sunk 15 July by two Kingfisher aircraft and ramming by the US motor vessel Unicoi off Cape Hatteras
• U-166: sunk 30 July by USS PC-566 in the Gulf of Mexico, the only U-boat sunk in the Gulf of Mexico during World War II

Unterseeboot 85 or U-85 was a German World War II Type VIIB submarine commissioned on 7 June 1941. ... April 14 is the 104th day of the year (105th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar, with 261 days remaining. ... USS Roper (DD-147) was a Wickes-class destroyer in the United States Navy, later converted to a high-speed transport and redesignated APD-20. ... An aerial view of the Cape Hatteras Lighthouse prior to its 1999 relocation. ... Unterseeboot 352 or U-352 was a Nazi German U-Boat that served in the North Atlantic during World War II. It was first launched on May 7th, 1941, under the command of Helmut Rathke, with a crew of 49. ... is the 129th day of the year (130th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... USCGC Icarus (WPC-110) was a steel-hulled, diesel-powered Thetis-class patrol boat of the United States Coast Guard that patrolled the Eastern coast during World War II. In 1942, Icarus sank the U-boat U-352 off the coast of North Carolina and took its survivors into custody... is the 164th day of the year (165th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... This article is about the Cuban city. ... is the 181st day of the year (182nd in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... PBM-3 Mariner of the U.S. Navy. ... Unterseeboot 215 (U-215) was a Type VIID submarine of the Kriegsmarine. ... is the 184th day of the year (185th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Unterseeboot 215 (U-215) was a Type VIID submarine of the Kriegsmarine. ... is the 188th day of the year (189th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... is the 194th day of the year (195th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... USS Lansdowne (DD-486), a Gleaves-class destroyer, is the only ship of the United States Navy to be named for Lieutenant Commander Zachary Lansdowne. ... Colón as seen from the ocean in January 2000 Colón is a sea port city on the Caribbean Sea coast of Panama. ... is the 196th day of the year (197th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... The Vought OS2U Kingfisher was a catapult-launched, observation floatplane. ... Unterseeboot 166 (U-166) was the only U-boat to be sunk in the Gulf of Mexico in World War II. It was sunk by the PC-566 right after sinking the passenger steamer Robert E. Lee. ... is the 211th day of the year (212th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ...

See also

• Attacks on North America during World War II
• Q-Ship
• United States Merchant Marine

Attacks on North America during World War II by the Axis Powers were rare, mainly due to the continents geographical separation from the central theaters of conflict in Europe and Asia. ... A hidden gun on a Q-ship in World War I. The Q-ship or Q-boat was a weapon used against German U-boats during World War I primarily by Britain and during World War II primarily by the United States. ... Source: This article contains material from the CIA World Factbook which, as a US government publication, is in the public domain. ...

External links

• List of U-boat sinkings
• No 53 Squadron, Royal Air Force, list of bases
• More information about RN Armed Trawlers and the Royal Naval Patrol Service in WW2

References

This includes a list of works cited or a list of external links, but its sources remain unclear because it lacks in-text citations. You can improve this article by introducing more precise citations.

• The War At Sea Vol II S W Roskill - HMSO
• The Second World War Volume IV W S Churchill - Cassel and Co
• The World War II Data Book John Ellis - BCA
• Operation Drumbeat Micheal Gannon - Harper and Row
• Merchant Shipping and the Demands of War C B A Behrens - HMSO
• The History of the Second World War E Baurer
• A History of US Naval Operations in WW2 Vol I S E Morrison - US Navy
• U-Boat War, three part Documentary - BFS Video, released in May 2001