The Grey Wolves of Eriboll

David M. Hird

ISBN 10: 1849951659 / ISBN 13: 9781849951654

Published by Porto Press Ltd, GB, 2018

About this Item

The surrender of the German U-boat fleet at the end of World War II was perhaps the principal event in the war's endgame which signified to the British people that peace really had arrived. It is little known that the majority of the surrenders of U-boats on active west-European sea patrols in May 1945 were supervised in Loch Eriboll, an isolated sea loch on Scotland's far north-westernmost coast. The U-boats were part of Hitler's plan to starve the British Isles of food, raw materials and equipment vital for the prosecution of the war - a plan that failed. With an estimated 160 U-boats on active patrol at the end of the war, it was imperative that these boats were made aware of the capitulation of German armed forces, that they accepted the surrender arrangements and then proceeded, surfaced, to designated British ports. Loch Eriboll's attraction as the reception port was its isolation and its safe, deep-water anchorage - ideal for the arrival of armed U-boats that might still be intent on one last show of defiance. News of the momentous event was heavily censored - nothing appeared in the local press.Thirty-three U-boats, their officers and men surrendered between 10th and 22nd May 1945. The boats were arrested, boarded and disarmed; in some cases this vital exercise was completed by the simple expedient of lobbing ammunition, explosives and torpedo pistols overboard! Each U-boat has been positively identified and detailed information provided including contemporary photographs, boat or flotilla emblem, together with the coordinates of where each boat was eventually destroyed in the north Atlantic. However, not all were destroyed by the Allies, some were retained by the British, American, Russian or French navies as spoils of war but the vast majority were lost accidentally or scrapped with the passage of time. The Grey Wolves of Eriboll includes a wealth of historical insights including the German Surrender Document; detailed descriptions of the construction, service careers and circumstances of each surrendered U-boat; details of the frigates that supervised the surrenders; Operation Deadlight (a hasty plan to ensure the U-boats could not again be used aggressively) and contemporary newspaper reports.The pivotal role played by Loch Eriboll in ending the U-boat menace is little-known and lesser celebrated - this book rights that wrong.

Seller Inventory # LU-9781849951654

Bibliographic Details

• Title: The Grey Wolves of Eriboll
• Publisher: Porto Press Ltd, GB
• Publication Date: 2018
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 1849951659
• ISBN 13: 9781849951654
• Binding: Paperback
• Edition: 2nd Edition
• Condition: New
• Weight: 704 grams

About this title

Synopsis

The surrender of the German U-boat fleet at the end of World War II was perhaps the principal event in the war’s endgame which signified to the British people that peace really had arrived.

This revised, updated and expanded new edition gives career details of not only the 33 commanders who accompanied their boats to Loch Eriboll but also of a further 23 previous commanders of those U-boats, including four who might be considered ‘Aces’ because of the damage they inflicted, sinking and disabling Allied shipping. The book also features an analysis of the Allied naval operation under which the surrendering U-boats were assembled in Scotland and Northern Ireland; asks who first contacted those U-boats after the capitulation – armed British trawlers, frigates of the Allied navies or aircraft of the Royal Air Force; and discloses how U-boats spared destruction were distributed to the navies of the USA, France, USSR and the Royal Navy. Also revealed are more unpublished recollections of British and German naval personnel present at the Loch Eriboll surrenders and how 116 surviving U-boats came to be sunk in the waters of the Western Approaches in the winter of 1945/46.

The Grey Wolves of Eriboll includes a wealth of historical insights including the German Surrender Document; detailed descriptions of the construction, service careers and circumstances of each surrendered U-boat; details of the frigates that supervised the surrenders, contemporary newspaper reports and descriptions of the naval Operations Pledge, Commonwealth, Cabal, Thankful and Deadlight, each of which involved Eriboll U-boats. The mysteries surrounding Hitler’s yacht and the alleged ‘Norwegian Royal Yacht’ (which did not exist at the time) are also explored.

The pivotal role played by Loch Eriboll in ending the U-boat menace is little-known and lesser celebrated – this book rights that wrong.

About the Author

About the author: David is the author of A Light in the Wilderness, Cape Wrath – the Penetrable Wilderness and The Grey Wolves of Eriboll.

 Praise for the 1st edition of The Grey Wolves of Eriboll


The author has assembled a fascinating amount of 'personal recollections' from both German and Allied people, he looks at the naval escorts involved ... and details every U-boat that visited Loch Eriboll. ... An excellent book covering a significant naval event in the immediate days following the ending of combat against Nazi Germany.Warships

… containing a wealth of information, the author has clearly meticulously researched his work. Historical insights are littered throughout and include the German Surrender Document; detailed descriptions of the construction, service careers and circumstances of each surrendered U-boat… A fascinating read.Sea Breezes

...well researched, fact filled and eminently readable account of this mass surrender... David Hird's excellent book highlights a little known period at the end of the war when the "Grey Wolves" were temporary visitors. It comes highly recommended.The Northern Times