The Story of Germany’s WWII Attempt to Strike New York City

In the early 1940s, during World War II, Germany decided to extend its submarine warfare to American shores. This effort, known as Operation Drumbeat, came right after the United States joined the war following the attack on Pearl Harbor. Germany’s submarines, also known as U-boats, set out to target merchant ships along the poorly defended East Coast of the United States, especially near New York City.

U-Boat Attacks along the East Coast

During that time, U-boats aimed to cut off supplies to Britain by sinking cargo ships crossing the Atlantic from the United States and Canada. The success of these missions was crucial for Germany, as they believed stopping these supplies would make Britain weaken. The eastern part of the Atlantic had seen such attacks, but new strategies meant hitting closer to where goods shipped out.

In January 1942, U-boat captains enjoyed what they called their ‘second happy time’, sinking ships nearly at will. In just a matter of months, they sunk a staggering total of over three million tons of Allied ships. The U-boats were daring, even sneaking close to cities like New York, firing torpedoes so near that the Manhattan skyline could be seen during attacks.

Close Encounters and New Technologies

One significant U-boat was the U-123, a large, long-range type that set sail for the U.S. East Coast. Its commander, Reinhard Hardegen, along with his crew, carried out successful attacks along the coast and even got within sight of New York City’s skyline – a sight Hardegen vividly recalled later.

Though they were effective at sea, the U-boats couldn’t directly hit land targets in the U.S. – something that would change later in the war with the development of missile technology. Germany created two powerful missiles, the V1 and V2, which were used against England with deadly effect. The V1, a kind of cruise missile, and the V2, the world’s first long-range ballistic missile, wreaked havoc in London, killing thousands.

With these new weapons, Germany explored the idea of attaching the V1 to submarines, enabling them to hit targets without entering a port. This concept pointed again to cities like New York, a symbolic and strategic target. The plan was to deploy U-boats equipped with V1 missiles to the coast of the U.S., where they could then launch the missiles onto the city.

The Allied Response to German Threats

However, these schemes faced multiple obstacles, including technological challenges and the changing tides of war. Germany worked on adapting and testing these new strategies, even considering the use of towed containers for the massive V2 rockets. But as the conflict progressed, time ran out for Germany to implement these plans effectively.

On the Allied side, intelligence about such potential attacks prompted strong responses. Operation Teardrop, a U.S. Navy operation, deployed forces to hunt these advanced German U-boats believed to be carrying the V1 missiles. The threat of flying bombs reaching American shores was taken very seriously, with efforts to prevent such strikes involving extensive patrols and actions against suspected submarines.

Captured German agents and interrogated U-boat crew members fueled the fear of this new threat. These concerns led to rigorous efforts to find and neutralize the U-boats before they could launch any missiles at New York or other cities.

Yet despite these fears and preparations, the war ended without Germany managing to achieve this aggressive strategy against the United States mainland. The reality of Germany’s wartime technology falling short and the closing of the Atlantic theater of war left the plans unrealized.