German submarine U-98 (1940)

U-98 sailed from Kiel under the command of Robert Gysae on 12 March 1941, and out into the Atlantic south of Iceland. On 27 March she sank the British 6,695 ton Koranton, a straggler from Convoy SC 25, with a single torpedo south southwest of Reykjavík. The ship sank quickly; she was loaded with 8,769 tons of pig iron.[5] On 4 April U-98 joined a wolfpack in an attack on Convoy SC 26.[6] She sank the Norwegian 2,467 ton Helle,[7] and the British 5,122 ton Wellcombe.[8] On 9 April she sank the Dutch 1,304 ton Prins Willem II, from Convoy HX 117.[9] The U-boat then arrived at Lorient on the French Atlantic coast on 14 April.

Sailing from Lorient on 1 May 1941, U-98 headed once more out into the Atlantic, this time to the waters south of Cape Farewell, Greenland. There at 04:00 hours on 13 May, she spotted the British 10,549 ton armed merchant cruiser (AMC) HMS Salopian, escorting Convoy SC 30 in fog. U-98's first attack, with two torpedoes missed, as did her second at 06:20. A third attack an hour later was more successful, hitting the AMC amidships and in the bow, although not preventing the ship from opening fire on the submarine, which forced the boat to dive. However, these hits brought down Salopian's radio antenna and fractured a steam line, shutting down her engines.[10]

At 08:00 and 08:50, two more torpedoes hit Salopian in the engine room. Finally at 10:43, a single torpedo hit the stricken vessel amidships. She broke in two, and sank within two minutes. In all, nine torpedoes had been used.[10] Former merchant vessels such as Salopian, when converted for naval use, had their cargo holds filled with buoyant material such as empty barrels, so they could withstand a considerable number of torpedo hits and remain afloat.[11]

The next day Salopian's commander, Captain Sir John Meynell Alleyne and 277 officers and ratings were picked up by the destroyer HMS Impulsive. One officer and two ratings were lost.[12]

On 20 May 1941 U-98 sank the British 5,356 ton Rothermere, part of convoy HX-126, which had scattered.[13] The next day she sank the British 7,402 ton Marconi, part of another dispersed convoy, OB-322.[14] U-98 arrived at her new homeport at St. Nazaire on 29 May 1941.

Sailing from St. Nazaire on 23 June 1941, U-98 attacked Convoy OB 341 northwest of the Azores on 9 July and sank the British 5,945 ton Designer,[15] she also destroyed the British 4,897 ton Inverness.[16] She returned to St. Nazaire on 23 July.

Departing from St. Nazaire on 31 August 1941, U-98 patrolled the waters west of the British Isles, and on 16 September fired four single torpedoes at Convoy SC 42 north-west of St. Kilda, sinking the British 4,392 ton Jedmoor.[17] She returned to St. Nazaire on 26 September.

U-98 left St. Nazaire on 29 October 1941, and returned on 29 November, after a patrol in the Atlantic, north of the Azores, lasting 32 days, but with no results.[18]

U-98 sailed on 18 January 1942, for her last patrol under the command of Robert Gysae, and headed across the Atlantic to the east coast of Canada. There, on 15 February 1942, she torpedoed the British 5,298 ton Biela, originally from Convoy ON 62, sinking her about 400 miles southeast of Cape Race (on the eastern tip of Newfoundland). There were no survivors, even though the ship's crew had taken to the boats.[19] The U-boat returned to St. Nazaire on 27 February.

On 31 March 1942, now commanded by Korvettenkapitän Wilhelm Schulze,[2] U-98 sailed from St. Nazaire. However, at 00:47 on 2 April, still in the Bay of Biscay the U-boat was attacked by a Whitley bomber of 502 Squadron RAF Coastal Command with six 250-pound (110 kg) depth charges. U-98 crash-dived and escaped with minor damage.[2] She then sailed for the coast of Florida, but had no success, returning to port on 6 June 1942.[20]

U-98 next patrol began on 17 July 1942, it took her back to the Florida coast to lay mines, one of which damaged the American 185 ton minesweeper Bold (AMc-67) on 10 August 1942.[21] She returned home on 16 September.

U-98' s ninth and final patrol was under the command of Oblt.z.S. Kurt Eichmann. The U-boat departed St. Nazaire on 22 October 1942, and after a voyage out to the mid-Atlantic without result[22] was sunk on 15 November west of the Strait of Gibraltar at 36°09′N 7°42′W, by depth charges from the British destroyer HMS Wrestler, all 46 hands were lost.[2]

U-98 took part in six wolfpacks, namely.

• West (8–27 May 1941)
• Seewolf (3–15 September 1941)
• Störtebecker (5–19 November 1941)
• Gödecke (19–22 November 1941)
• Natter (30 October – 8 November 1942)
• Westwall (8–15 November 1942)