There were actually two different periods referred to as Happy Time or Golden Time. These were two different periods during The Battle of the Atlantic in which German’s U-boats could pretty much sink as much as they wanted with little fear of being sunk themselves.

The first period begins with the fall of France in June of 1940 and ends either in October 1940 or April 1941 depending who you wish to listen to. But from June to October 1940 282 ships, 1,489,795 tons, were sunk by German U-boats. Action in the Atlantic then slowed some due to weather and then picked back up the following year. In March of 1941 three of German’s top U-boats captains were lost, Günther Prien, Joachim Schepke and Otto Kretschmer. Activity kept moving along for the German u-boats but not as dramatically as in 1940.

The Second Happy Time came in January 1942 and ran through August 1942. This time the focus was along the US east coast. U-boats operated all along the coast and even entered the Gulf of Mexico. U-boats operated within sight of the US shore and stalked their prey mostly at night. Persons in and around Atlantic City would spend nights watching ships being attacked.

As the old saying goes, all good things must come to an end. This was true fro the Second Happy Time. Improved allied defensive measures of convoys, blacked out US cities, and increased air coverage effectively shut down the US east coast as a hunting ground. From January to June 1942 some 384 ships were sunk off the US east coast, along with 9 U-boats.

The U-boats retreated back into the air gap and continued their attacks with ruthless efficiency.