Instinctive behavior occurs when an animal has a particular internal state while it is in the presence of a specific external stimulation called a releaser or a sign stimulus.
How many ships did the U-boats sink? During the war the U-boats sank about 2,779 ships for a total of 14.1 million tons GRT. This figure is roughly 70% of all allied shipping losses in all theatres of the war and to all hostile action. The most successful year was 1942 when over 6 million tons of shipping were sunk in the Atlantic.
USS Oklahoma (BB-37) Capsized and sank after being torpedoed by Japanese aircraft at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, 7 December 1941. Aircraft Carrier (CV) USS Hornet (CV-8) Sunk after being torpedoed by Japanese aircraft during the Battle of Santa Cruz, Solomon Islands, 26 October 1942.