In May of 1918 the German navy decided to take a crack at the convoy system and sent six U-boats out to the western approaches. The boats did not act as a wolfpack, but were under the overall direction of the commanding officer of U-103, Kapitänleutnant Claus Rücker. They began deploying on May 10 and the exercise
lasted until May 25, it was a total failure which cost the Germans two submarines.

It is estimated that at least thirty convoys had passed by the U-boat force and not a single ship had been
damaged let alone sunk. Of the six U-boats sent out the two that were lost were both sunk on May 12, 1918.
SMS U-103 became the only submarine ever sunk by a passenger liner, The Olympic, sister ship of the Titanic, was being used as a troop transport when the U-103 was seen by her captain.

The captain of the Olympic turned the great liner at the U-103 and ran her down, but the boat managed to
resurface and most of the crew escaped, however ten men did not get out before the submarine went to the
bottom of the English Channel. Olympic made a second pass and dropped a lifeboat to the men in the water,
but because of the large number of U.S. troops on board did not stop to pick them up, USS Davis (destroyer
#35) found them later in the day and recovered them.

The other loss was SMS UB-72, this boat however was not just a target of opportunity it was found by radio
signals, the six boats were in contact with each other via wireless, and the British located her position through
these communications. HMS D-4 located the boat and fired two torpedoes at her, the only survivors were three
of the four men who were on watch outside the boat, thirty-four others were killed.

Because of the poor performance and the loss of two boats, the Germans did not try another experiment like this until the next war.