Key Facts
- Dates
- May 5–6, 1945
- Ship sunk (Allied)
- SS Black Point, 368-ft coal ship, 7,500 tons
- German loss
- One U-boat sunk
- Context
- Hitler had already died; Germany on verge of surrender
- Allied assets
- US surface combatants and two blimps
Strategic Narrative Overview
On May 5, 1945, a German U-boat targeted and sank the SS Black Point, a 7,500-ton coal freighter, off Point Judith, Rhode Island. American surface warships and two blimps responded swiftly, hunting down the submarine. Over the course of May 5 and 6, US forces located and sank the U-boat, making the engagement one of the very last offensive U-boat actions and counter-actions of the entire Battle of the Atlantic.
01 / The Origins
By May 1945, Nazi Germany faced total collapse on all fronts. Adolf Hitler had already died by suicide on April 30, yet German U-boats continued operating in the Atlantic under standing orders. The Battle of the Atlantic had raged since 1939, with German submarines inflicting severe losses on Allied shipping. One such U-boat was still prowling American coastal waters off Rhode Island in the war's final days.
03 / The Outcome
The U-boat was destroyed by American forces, ending the brief engagement. Germany surrendered unconditionally on May 8, 1945, just two days after the battle concluded. The action stands as a coda to the Battle of the Atlantic, illustrating that hostilities persisted at sea even as the Third Reich disintegrated on land. The sinking of SS Black Point was among the final Allied merchant ship losses of the European war.
Belligerents & Mobilization Analysis
Side A
1 belligerent
Side B
1 belligerent
Kinetic Engagement Axis
Scroll horizontally to view full axis. Events plotted relatively.