Page "Strait of Gibraltar" Paragraph 28

During the Second World War, German U-boats used the currents to pass into the Mediterranean Sea without detection, by maintaining silence with engines off.

From September 1941 to May 1944 Germany managed to send 62 U-boats into the Mediterranean.

All these boats had to navigate the British-controlled Strait of Gibraltar where nine U-boats were sunk while attempting passage and 10 more had to break off their run due to damages.

No U-boats ever made it back into the Atlantic and all were either sunk in battle or scuttled by their own crews.