20. Doenitz returned to concentrating on the mid-Atlantic sea lanes
In late summer, 1942, the German U-boats returned to operations in the open oceans, withdrawing from the American coast. In Germany, naval construction on all surface ships was halted, and all was concentrated on the U-boat fleet. Heavy guns for German capital ships began to loom on beach fortifications, Hitler’s Atlantic Wall. In autumn, U-boat losses began to mount, while the number of Allied ships lost to the wolfpacks continued to be dangerously high. New weapons, including the British-developed Hedgehog, joined the fight.
Depth charges were dropped from the stern of escort ships, or ejected by launchers to the side and behind. Hedgehogs were launched ahead of the ship, thrown forward, into the asdic beam projected by the vessel. In action, they proved far more effective than depth charges. Radar-equipped aircraft, also developed by the British, allowed long-range airplanes to detect and harass submarines while they vectored in surface ships to destroy them. They also were equipped with effective weapons against U-boats. As 1943 began the Allies started to gain the upper hand in the Battle of the Atlantic.
