Wolfpack Endrass

Endrass was a "wolfpack" of German U-boats that operated from 12 to 17 June 1942 in attacking Convoy HG 84 that comprised 23 Allied ships. The group was named after the U-boat commander Engelbert Endrass, who had been killed in action in December 1941.

U-boats, commanders and dates

 * GS U-71 (1940), Walter Flachsenberg, 12–16 June
 * GS U-84 (1941), Horst Uphoff, 12–17 June
 * GS U-89 (1941), Dietrich Lohmann, 12–17 June
 * GS U-132 (1941), Ernst Vogelsang, 12–17 June
 * GS U-134 (1941), Rudolf Schendel, 12–17 June
 * GS U-437, Werner-Karl Schulz, 12–17 June
 * GS U-552, Erich Topp, 12–17 June
 * GS U-571, Helmut Möhlmann, 12–17 June
 * GS U-575, Günther Heydemann, 12–17 June

Ships hit by this Wolfpack
Five ships of Convoy HG 84, assembled at Gibraltar for passage to Liverpool, were sunk, all by the U-boat U-552 in the early hours of 15 June.

Etrib, Pelayo & Slemdal
The first attack came at 00:59, about 700 km west of Corunna, Spain, when U-552 fired torpedoes at the convoy and hit and sank the 1,943 ton British merchant ship Etrib, the 1,346 ton British merchant ship Pelayo, and the 7,374 ton Norwegian tanker Slemdal.

City of Oxford and Thurso
U-552 struck again at 04:34, firing three torpedoes at the convoy. Two British merchant ships, the 2,759 ton SS City of Oxford and the 2,436 ton SS Thurso were hit and sunk.