Actually I don't remember "wolves" being part of the submariner jargon on U-boats, either. I'm not so sure that's what they used to refer to themselves... but I get the impression "wolves" had more to do with propaganda.
Pretty sure subs were just subs. As to the American ones specifically, well, they weren't the Silent Service for nothing! I think the big difference between the U-boats and the American subs is that whereas U-boat feats were widely publicised through German propaganda, Americans did not make a big propaganda topic out of submarines and most of their actions remained obscure enough from the public not to warrant much in the way of threatening nicknames. Even more true of British subs - there were some heroic feats behind them and they have some respectable records, especially in their role as sub-killers, but little of it registered in the popular mind at all.
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