Editing Second Happy Time (section)

===German intentions===
Upon [[German declaration of war against the United States (1941)|Germany's declaration of war on the United States]] on 11 December 1941 just after the [[attack on Pearl Harbor]], the US was, on paper at least, in a fortunate position. Where the other combatants on the Allied side had already lost thousands of trained sailors and airmen, and were experiencing shortages of ships and aircraft, the US was at full strength (save for its recent losses at Pearl Harbor). The US had the opportunity to learn about modern naval warfare by observing the conflicts in the [[North Sea]] and the Mediterranean, and through a close relationship with the United Kingdom. The USN had already gained significant experience in countering U-boats in the Atlantic, particularly from April 1941 when President [[Franklin D. Roosevelt]] extended the "[[Pan-American Security Zone]]" east almost as far as [[Iceland]]. The United States had massive manufacturing capacity and a favorable geographical position from a defensive point of view: the [[New York Harbor|port of New York]], for example, was 3,000 miles to the west of the [[U-boat]] bases in [[Brittany]].

U-boat commander ''Vizeadmiral'' [[Karl Dönitz]] saw the entry of the US into the war as a golden opportunity to strike heavy blows in the [[tonnage war]] and Hitler ordered an assault on America on 12 December 1941. The standard [[Type VII submarine]] had insufficient range to patrol off the coast of North America (although, in due time, Type VII submarines were successfully able to patrol off the eastern seaboard of North America, due to refueling, rearming, and resupply logistical support by [[Type XIV submarine|Type XIV]] [[submarine tender]]); the only suitable weapons he had on hand were the larger [[Type IX submarine|Type IX]].<ref>Blair p. 438</ref> These were less maneuverable and slower to submerge, making them much more vulnerable than the Type VIIs. They were also fewer in number.