Editing Operation Deadlight (section)

== Operation ==
Of the 156 U-boats that surrendered to the allies at the end of the war, 116 were scuttled as part of Operation Deadlight.<ref name=Waller>{{cite web |url= http://uboat.net/articles/84.html |title       = Operation Deadlight |last= Waller |first= Derek |website= German U-boats of WWII – uboat.net |access-date=7 November 2010|url-status= live |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20101112011008/http://www.uboat.net/articles/84.html |archive-date = 12 November 2010 |df= dmy-all}}</ref> The Royal Navy carried out the operation, and planned to tow the submarines to three areas about {{convert|100|mi|km}} north-west of Ireland and sink them.<ref name=Paterson161 /> The areas were codenamed XX, YY, and ZZ.<ref name=Paterson161 /> They intended to use XX as the main scuttling area, while towing 36 boats to ZZ to use as practice targets for aerial attack. YY was to be a reserve position where, if the weather was good enough, they could divert submarines from XX to sink with naval forces.<ref name=Paterson161 /> Submarines that were not used for target practice were to be sunk with explosive charges, with naval gunfire as a fall-back option if that failed.<ref name=Paterson161>{{cite book |title=Black Flag. The Surrender of Germany's U-Boat Forces 1945
 |last=Paterson |first=Lawrence
 |year=2009 |publisher=Pen & Sword books
 |isbn=978-1-84832-037-6 |pages= 161–163}}</ref>

When Operation Deadlight began, the navy found that many of the U-boats were in poor condition from being [[moored]] in exposed harbours while awaiting disposal.<ref name=Paterson161 /> These issues, combined with poor weather, sank 56 of the boats before they reached the scuttling areas, and those that did reach the area were generally sunk by gunfire rather than explosive charges.<ref name=Paterson161 /> The first sinking took place on 17 November 1945 and the last on 11 February 1946.<ref name=Paterson161 /><ref name=Paterson174>{{cite book |title=Black Flag. The Surrender of Germany's U-Boat Forces 1945 |last=Paterson |first=Lawrence |year=2009 |publisher=Pen & Sword books |isbn=978-1-84832-037-6 |page=174}}</ref>