Background
Following the defeats of May 1943, and the devastating losses incurred by the U-boat Arm (U-Bootwaffe, or UBW) Adm Dönitz had withdrawn from attacks on the North Atlantic route while awaiting tactical and technical improvements. Chief among these was the T-5 acoustic torpedo, with which (it was planned) the convoy escorts could be attacked and eliminated, leaving the merchant ships defenceless. By September 1943 these were ready, and U-boat Control (Befehlshaber der Unterseeboote, BdU) dispatched a patrol group of 21 boats, code-named Leuthen, to renew the attack on the North Atlantic route.
Read more about this topic: Convoys ONS 18/ON 202
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