Doors Open 8 a.m.                    Presentation Begins 9 a.m.

Hunter-killer groups were specialized Allied naval formations designed to locate and destroy German submarines (U-boats) in the Battle of the Atlantic during World War II. Altogether, German submarines, surface raiders, and aircraft sank some 5,000 Allied cargo and tanker ships over the course of the war. Destroyer escorts and shore-based aircraft provided some protection for the convoys in the early days of the war, but losses were still high. Hunter-killer groups were formed beginning in 1943 to actively hunt submarines rather than to merely defend the convoys.

Hunter-killer groups were typically organized around an escort carrier providing aerial reconnaissance, air cover, and air attack capabilities, accompanied by destroyers and destroyer escorts. Unlike standard convoy escorts, these groups were mobile and independent, allowing them to pursue U-boats over extended periods. The groups relied on a combination of signals intelligence, radar, sonar, and cryptological intelligence such as Ultra to detect, track, and attack U-boats.

One of the most famous hunter-killer groups was centered on the escort carrier USS Guadalcanal.  Its usual complement of aircraft included nine Wildcat fighters and twelve Avenger torpedo bombers of squadron VC-8. On June 4, 1944, the Guadalcanal and five destroyer escorts of its task group under the command of Captain Daniel Gallery was able to capture the German submarine U-505 off the west coast of Africa, along with a trove of German intelligence material.

On Saturday, October 17, at 9:00 a.m., museum docent Glenn Merchant will tell the fascinating story of the capture of U-505 and its final journey ending at Chicago’s Griffin Museum of Science and Industry where it resides today. Weather permitting, the presentation will be followed by a flight demonstration of one of the museum’s two TBM Avenger torpedo bombers, one of the two types of aircraft aboard the USS Guadalcanal during the U-505 capture.