Death in the Doldrums: U-Cruiser Actions Off West Africa

On the outbreak of war in 1939 Admiral Donitz initiated an ambitious building programme of Type IX U-Cruisers, larger and with even greater range than the Type VIIs. The Type IXs at first operated with considerable success against shipping off the East Coast of America and in the Caribbean but this was just a taste of what they were capable of. With the Suez Canal closed, the route to and from the Middle East and India had to be around the Cape of Good Hope. The U-Cruisers were ideal for operations in the Gulf of Guinea and, during 1942 and 1943, their impact caused the Admiralty serious concern bordering on panic. Convoys were organised between the UK and Freetown but, before the arrival of the U-Cruisers, ships otherwise sailed alone and unescorted in comparative safety. Rich pickings were there for the taking.
U-68 and U-505, the main participants featured in this book, had not been expected to be more than nuisance value to the Allies. However leading naval historian Bernard Edwards provides conclusive evidence that their impact was far greater than that.