Mediterranean U-boat Campaign (World War II)

Mediterranean U-boat Campaign (World War II)

The Mediterranean U-boat Campaign lasted approximately from 21 September 1941 to May 1944 during World War II. The Italians had failed to neutralize Malta as a British base, Axis supply convoys to North Africa suffered severe losses as a result. This in turn threatened the Axis armies' ability to fight. The Kriegsmarine aimed at isolating Malta so as to disrupt British supply convoys to the island. As the Allies gained the upper hand, U-boat operations became targeted at the various landings in southern Europe.

Some 60 German U-boats made the hazardous passage into the Mediterranean Sea in World War II. Only one completed the journey both ways. Karl Dönitz, the Commander-in-Chief, U-boats, Befehlshaber der Unterseeboote (BdU) was always reluctant to send his boats into the Mittelmeer, but he recognized that natural 'choke points' such as the Straits of Gibraltar were more likely to result in shipping being found and attacked than relying on their location in the vast Atlantic wastes at that stage in the early years of the war.

The U-boats were sent to assist the Italians, although many were attacked in the Strait of Gibraltar (of which nine were sunk while attempting passage and 10 more were damaged). Had these U-boats been deployed in the Atlantic, or directly along the coasts of Britain, Germany would have had an advantage.

The Mediterranean is a clear and calm body of water which made escape more difficult for the U-boats. Germany's objective failed.