New Member talks about U-boat war off Atlantic coast during 7/12 meeting

Bill Watson, a recent addition to our club, shared insights into a little known part of World War II history during our July 12 meeting.
During the first six months of 1942, the Germans were determined to disrupt American naval forces off of the Atlantic coast with their fleet of U-boats. Overall, more than 5,000 Americans were killed during this part of the war, Watson said. In particular off of the coast of Virginia and North Carolina, which Watson focused his speech on, the damage was extensive. Seventy-seven ships were lost or damaged, 367,649 tons was sunk and another 110,340 tons were damaged with 1,147 killed in this particular area.
Winston Churchill called the U-boats "our worst evil" and American naval leaders initially ignored British intelligence regarding the boats and their prominence.
The Germans had developed a plan known as Operation Paulenslaug (Drumbeat) which would "shock" the US with the U-boat fleet. It was very successful during the first six months of 1942 until the Americans wised up to the attacks by having convoys protect their ships and practiced blackouts along the coast. Other reasons the U-boat attacks diminished, Watson said, included new refueling vessels allowed the U-boats to stay at sea longer and go to other water such as the Caribbean and Gulf of Mexico, also Adolf Hitler wanted the boats to return to the Mediterranean where the Allies were beginning to have land success.

Watson joined our club recently from Raleigh, where he was a member of their Kiwanis Club and has served as club president. Watson received a bachelor's, master's and Ph.D. in economics from North Carolina State University. A Durham native, Watson served in the army during the 1970s and has 30-years in the electric utility business. Currently, Watson "keeps the lights on" by making sure electric cooperatives in Virginia, Delaware and Maryland are in compliance with North American Electric Reliability Corporation (NERC) for electric system reliability. Bill and his wife, Laura, have one son who serves in the U.S. Army Special Forces.