Hitler’s U-Boat War- The Hunted 1942-45

by Clay Blair

  SIX

  HUSKY

  The Allied plan for Husky, the invasion of Sicily, underwent several last minute changes. The upshot was as follows. On the heels of a massive bombing campaign against Italy, American and British airborne forces would lead the assault on Sicily in the early hours of July 10 when the moon was new, or completely dark. Near dawn, the British Eighth Army (115,000 troops), commanded by Bernard Montgomery, would land on the southeast coast of the island near Syracuse. At the same time, the American Seventh Army (66,000 troops), commanded by George Patton, would land nearby on the south coast, near Gela and Scoglitti. The British and American navies would provide sea lift and escort for these amphibious assaults. Inasmuch as the Italian Navy was still capable of posing a threat,* the British would deploy powerful covering forces comprised of six battleships, two fleet carriers, six cruisers, and eighteen destroyers.* In all: 2,590 Allied vessels.

  Unlike Torch, the surprise Allied invasion of French Northwest Africa, the Axis high commands were expecting an invasion of Sicily. In June, the senior German commander in the Mediterranean, Albert Kesselring, had obtained authority from Hitler to send two Panzer divisions (about 30,000 men) to Sicily to reinforce Alfredo Guzzoni’s uncertain Italian Army garrison. In addition, Hitler had directed the Luftwaffe to place the German 1st Parachute Division (based in the south of France) on standby for possible insertion into Sicily. Berlin deemed these German forces and supporting troops plus the Italians to be sufficient to defend the island, provided they took full advantage of its awesomely rugged terrain.

  Although the Allied airborne operations were a deplorable fiasco, the amphibious assaults by the British Eighth Army and the American Seventh Army overwhelmed the slovenly, dispirited Italian garrison troops and Allied forces got ashore, more or less as planned. German Panzer forces counterattacked but the Allies held fast. Notwithstanding the standard inane order from Hitler forbidding retreat, the Germans gradually withdrew into a defensive enclave on the northeast shoulder of the island near Messina. Meanwhile, in accordance with a plan conceived by Admiral Dönitz on a recent visit to Rome, the senior Kriegsmarine officer in Italy, Friedrich Ruge (later a historian), secretly prepared to circumvent Hitler’s order and evacuate all German forces from Sicily, utilizing an effective ferry service that a Kriegsmarine landing-craft expert, Gustav von Liebenstein, had put into place.

  The Allied invasion of Sicily coincided with Hitler’s last massive attempt to overwhelm the Red Army in the Ukraine (Citadel). The Germans launched that huge offensive on July 5 against what was viewed as a vulnerable Soviet salient at Kursk. In one of the decisive battles of World War II, the Red Army held, then repulsed the Germans, inflicting catastrophic losses. Rolling over the reeling Germans, Soviet forces then recaptured Orel and Kharkov. Blaming the Wehrmacht generals rather than admitting error for these colossal defeats, Hitler canceled all further offensive actions in that area and directed German forces to go over to the defensive. There was no longer any possibility that the Germans could conquer the Soviet Union. Henceforth the German “Eastern Front” became a titanic Soviet killing ground, draining the Third Reich of its manpower and matériel.

  The fighting on Sicily also coincided with a massive Allied air attack on Hamburg, Germany (Gomorrah). Commencing on the night of July 24-25, RAF Bomber Command hit Hamburg with about three thousand sorties, including that night and the nights of July 27-28, July 29-30, and August 2-3. In all, about 2,600 RAF heavy bombers dropped about 8,300 tons of bombs. The American Eighth Air Force carried out two daylight raids on Hamburg on July 25 and July 26, deploying about 250 B-17s, of which about 150 dropped about three hundred tons of bombs.

  The purpose of this saturation air attack was to destroy the numerous U-boat building yards in Hamburg. The bombs inflicted only modest damage on the U-boat yards* but generated a lethal firestorm. The air raids killed about 45,000 civilians, wounded or injured about 37,000, and destroyed 253,400 of 450,000 dwelling units, leaving 900,000 people homeless. The raids enraged the many German submariners who came from Hamburg and/or had relatives, loved ones, or friends who were killed, wounded, or displaced.

  When the Allies invaded Sicily, the Mediterranean U-boat force numbered seventeen VIIs, including Hans-Ferdinand Massmann, age twenty-five, in U-409, who had slipped through the Strait of Gibraltar on June 8. The force was in the process of shifting its main base of operations from La Spezia to Toulon, but a number of boats were conducting patrols.

  Seven U-boats in Mediterranean waters reported successes in June, during the Allied run-up to Husky.

  • The veteran U-97, commanded by Hans-Georg Trox, age twenty-seven, pa trolling the eastern Mediterranean near Haifa, sank two ships: the 9,000-ton British tanker Athelmonarch and the 1,200-ton Dutch freighter Palima. Trox did not live long enough to celebrate.

  British forces in the eastern Mediterranean converged on the site of these sinkings to hunt down U-97. In the afternoon of June 16, a Hudson of Australian Squadron 459, piloted by David T. Barnard, spotted U-97 on the surface and straddled her from very low altitude with four depth charges. The explosion of one missile, a direct hit, battered the Hudson, damaging both wings, the fuselage (over one hundred holes), and the tail. Barnard took photos of the sinking U-boat, then limped to base. British ships rescued twenty-one Germans, but Trox and about twenty-six others perished.

  • Also patrolling in the eastern Mediterranean, the famous veteran U-81, commanded by Johann-Otto Krieg, age twenty-four, sank two confirmed vessels on June 26: the 3,700-ton Greek freighter Michalios and a Syrian sailing vessel He claimed to have destroyed two other sailing vessels.

  • In the western Mediterranean off Oran on June 21, the veteran U-73>, commanded by Horst Deckert, age twenty-four, sank the 1,600-ton British cargo vessel Brinkburn. A week later Deckert damaged the 8,300-ton Royal Navy tanker Abbeydale.

  • Also off Oran on June 22, the U-593, commanded by Gerd Kelbling, sank two 1,600-ton LSTs (British 333 and American 387). On July 5, in the same area, he got the 6,100-ton British freighter Devis. Prior claims and credits and these three sinkings earned Kelbling a Ritterkreuz *

  • On the last day of June, the veteran U-453, commanded by Ritterkreuz holder Egon-Reiner von Schlippenbach, hit and damaged the British freighter Oligarch west of Tobruk. In the same area a week later, July 6, von Schlippenbach sank the 5,500-ton British freighter Shajeban from convoy MWS 36, en route from Alexandria to Gibraltar.

  The confirmed June successes by these seven boats came to seven ships (including one tanker) sunk for 27,000 tons, one sailing vessel (possibly three) sunk, and one big tanker and one big freighter damaged for an aggregate 15,200 tons. Albrecht Brandi in U-617 claimed sinking another destroyer, but this third claimed destroyer kill could not be confirmed either. Allied forces sank one boat in June, U-97.

  Apart from the sinkings in July just described, in the days immediately preceding the invasion of Sicily, when hundreds of Allied ships were forming into assault and backup convoys and covering forces, two other U-boats had successes. From convoy KMS 18B, off the coast of North Africa between Oran and Algiers, Jürgen Könenkamp, age twenty-nine, in the veteran U-375, got two British freighters: the 5,600-ton St. Essylt and the 8,800-ton City of Venice. On Husky D day, July 10, Waldemar Mehl, age twenty-eight, in the veteran U-371 damaged two American ships off Algiers: the 7,200-ton Liberty ship Matthew Maury and the 6,600-ton tanker Gulfprince.

  During the tough battles ashore, several U-boats attacked Allied maritime forces near Sicily. Off the southeast coast on July 21-22, Johann-Otto Krieg in U-81 damaged the 7,500-ton British freighter Empire Moon. Nearby on the following day, Ernst-Ulrich Brüller, age twenty-five, in U-407 damaged the 8,800-ton British cruiser Newfoundland, flagship of a support force. On August 7, Waldemar Mehl in U-371 sank the 6,000-ton British freighter Contractor off the coast of Tunisia. On August 23, Josef Röther, age thirty-five, in U-380 damaged the 7,200-ton American Liberty ship Pierre Soulé. On August 26, Horst-Arn
o Fenski, age twenty-four, in U-410, sank two American Liberty ships off the southwest coast of Sardinia for an aggregate 14,400 tons: John Bell and Richard Henderson. Several other German claims of damage to Allied warships and merchantmen could not be confirmed.

  Thus, during the fight for Sicily in July and August, the Mediterranean U-boat force sank seven Allied ships for about 45,000 tons and damaged five for 37,900 tons, including, notably, the British cruiser Newfoundland.

  During this same period, Allied forces sank four U-boats, reducing the Mediterranean force to thirteen.

  •On the morning of July 12, the British destroyer Inconstant, part of the escort for a convoy of troopships, MKF 19, returning empty to Algeria, got Massmann in the U-409, the latest arrival in the Mediterranean, on sonar and attacked. Over a period of two and a half hours, Inconstant fired forty-six depth charges, the last salvo of five set for a depth of about seven hundred feet. These apparently holed U-4099s pressure hull aft and caused heavy flooding.

  To stop the descent of the boat, Massmann blew all ballast tanks and U-409 shot up “almost vertically” and completely out of control. When she reached the surface, she leveled off but sank almost at once. Before she disappeared, Inconstant hit the boat topside with shells from her main 4.7” battery, killing fourteen and seriously wounding six Germans who were attempting to abandon ship. Inconstant picked up Massmann and thirty-eight other Germans, including two other officers and a midshipman.

  • That same night, a British MTB-81 came upon a U-boat in the narrow Strait of Messina, separating Sicily and the “toe” of Italy. This was the outbound veteran U-561, commanded by a new skipper, Fritz Henning, age twenty-six. The British craft attacked the unalert U-561 with torpedoes at very close range and sank her. Henning and four other crewmen were rescued by Axis small craft. Later, Henning was named commander of another veteran Mediterranean boat, U-565, replacing Ritterkreuz holder Wilhelm Franken, age twenty-six, who returned to Germany for duty in the Training Command and was later killed in an “unlucky accident.”

  • On July 30, the American patrol craft PC-624, commanded by Robert D. Lowther, found and sank the veteran U-375, commanded by Jürgen Könenkamp, off the island of Pantelleria, between Tunisia and Sicily. There were no survivors.

  • On the night of August 22, the British destroyer Easton and the Greek destroyer Pindos (ex-Bolebroke), escorting convoy MKF 22, found the U-458, commanded by Kurt Diggins, age twenty-nine, near the island of Pantelleria. The warships blew U-458 to the surface with thirty depth charges and hit her with gunfire, then Easton rammed her. Twelve Germans were killed in this action; the warships fished out thirty-nine of the U-458 crew, including Diggins.

  When some of these losses became known, on July 24 the OKM directed U-boat Control to send three more “experienced” VIIs from the Atlantic force to the Mediterranean force. All three sailed in late July, but none got there.

  • The U-614, commanded by Wolfgang Sträter, age twenty-seven, sailed from St. Nazaire on July 25. On the fifth day out while still in Biscay, a Wellington of British Squadron 172, piloted by Rowland G. Musson, found and attacked U-614, dropping six depth charges. In accordance with policy, Sträter remained on the surface to fight it out with his new quad 20mm and other flak guns, but the depth charges blew the boat to pieces. The Wellington aircrew saw survivors in the water, “some wearing life jackets and yellow skull caps.” All waved or defiantly shook fists, but no German survived. About a month later, Musson was killed in the crash of another Wellington.

  • The U-454 and U-706 sailed in company from La Pallice on July 29. It was the fourth start in July for the U-706, commanded by Alexander von Zitzewitz, who had been bedeviled by a series of mechanical failures.

  On July 30, von Zitzewitz in U-706 and the U-454, commanded by Burkhard Hackländer, joined two boats from Brest for the Biscay crossing. The next afternoon, August 1, a Sunderland of Australian Squadron 10, piloted by Kenneth G. Fry on Musketry patrol, spotted the four U-boats on the surface. Fry gave the alarm and attacked Hackländer’s veteran U-454. Flying into heavy flak, he dropped six depth charges. These missiles destroyed U-454 but the flak so badly damaged the Sunderland that it crashed in flames. Fry and five other Australian aircrew died; six survived and were rescued by the sloop Wren of Johnny Walker’s Support Group 2. Another sloop of that group, Kite, rescued Hackländer, his second watch officer Gerhard Braun, and twelve enlisted men.

  On the morning of August 2, a Hampden of Canadian Squadron 415, piloted by Charles G. Ruttan, found Zitzewitz in U-706 by radar and attacked with six depth charges in the face of heavy flak, results that were never undetermined. Responding to the alarm, a B-24 of Army Air Forces ASW Squadron 4, piloted by Joseph L. Hamilton, boldly flew into flak and dropped twelve depth charges in a close straddle from an altitude of fifty feet. These destroyed U-706, which sank in mere seconds. Hamilton reported “at least fifteen men” in the water. He dropped them a dinghy, but only the second watch officer, Henner Lappe, and three enlisted men survived. A Catalina of British Squadron 210 guided the frigate Waveney of the British 40th Support Group to the scene and she rescued the four Germans.

  The loss of all three U-boats assigned to reinforce the Mediterranean force left that command at thirteen boats, most of them based at Toulon, France.

  The official Italian naval historian, Marc’ Antonio Bragadin, wrote that his Navy correctly anticipated an Allied landing in Sicily, but that owing to the paucity of combat-ready warships, Allied air supremacy, and a shortage of fuel oil, the surface forces were incapable of attacking the vast Allied armada. Two pairs of Italian cruisers sailed to conduct nuisance raids on Allied forces at Palermo, but when both pairs were discovered by Allied forces, they were recalled.

  Bragadin went on to write that about one dozen Italian submarines sailed against Allied maritime forces. Seven of these claimed sinking or damaging Allied warships, but only one claim was ever confirmed: On July 16, Aldo Turcio in Dandolo hit and damaged the 5,500-ton British light cruiser Cleopatra. Allied air, surface, and submarine forces sank five of the twelve boats. * In addition, on July 12, the British minesweeper Seaham, commanded by Robert E. Brett, captured another, the medium Bronzo, commanded by A. Gherardi. Nine of her crew, including Gherardi, were killed in the action and thirty-six survived to become POWs. Seaham towed Bronzo to port.†

  During the fighting on Sicily, the Fascist government of Benito Mussolini fell on July 25. To replace Mussolini, King Victor Emmanuel III appointed seventy-two-year-old Pietro Badoglio, who immediately entered into secret negotiations with the Allies to surrender Italy. Suspecting this defection, Hitler issued orders for German forces to prepare to occupy and hold Italy by armed force and to capture Italian naval forces for the Kriegsmarine. Both were exceedingly complex undertakings.

  JULY PATROLS TO THE AMERICAS

  Owing to the diversion of five new VIIs to the Arctic* in order to maintain that force at twenty or more boats in the daylight summer months and to the usual mishaps in the Baltic,† only one—repeat one—new VII came out from Germany to the North Atlantic in July, U-647. Barred from attacking convoys, she was to serve as a radio decoy, simulating the operations of a group.

  In July, U-boat Control sailed forty-eight U-boats, including U-tankers and other types. The majority embarked to distant waters where Allied ASW was assumed to be less effective. Here are the July deployments as they evolved:

  The U-tanker force was still inadequate, especially since the many boats sailing to distant waters required one or more refuelings. Six of the eight Type XIV “Milk Cow” U-tankers of the Atlantic force remained. On July 1, half of this number, U-459, U-460, and U-461, were in French ports. The U-460 had only just returned and did not sail again until late August. The U-459 and U-461 were scheduled to sail later in the month. Two others, U-462 (aborting) and U-488 (empty) were returning to French bases. The U-462 might make repairs and resail before the end of July, but U-488 could not sail until early September. Another new
Type XIV, U^489, was scheduled to leave Kiel in late July but she could not reach the Atlantic before early August. Hence only one Type XIV U-tanker was available for the month of July, the U-487, which had sailed from France on June 15.

  All U-boats putting out from France were to confront Musketry/Seaslug, the most intense phase of the British ASW campaign in the Bay of Biscay. In compliance with the new doctrine, no boat was to sail without the new flak array and all were to cross Biscay in groups of three to five and remain on the surface and fight it out with enemy aircraft. Where possible, inbound and outbound U-boats in Biscay were to be escorted by Luftwaffe JU-88s and other planes. In an attempt to hide in the radar clutter of the shoreline, a great many boats would closely hug the coast of France and, in violation of international law, that of “neutral” Spain.

  During July, thirteen boats set sail from France for the Americas. Owing to the scarcity of lone ships and to the risks incurred in attacking American convoys, seven of the thirteen were to plant minefields, a less satisfying but, in the summer of 1943, a less dangerous task. The other six boats that were not qualified in minelaying were to carry out torpedo patrols on the supposedly safer “bauxite route” between Trinidad and Brazil.

  All the boats bound to the Americas had a difficult time. On the outbound leg, six were lost and three aborted:

  • The U-628 and U-648, commanded by Heinz Hasenschar, age twenty-six, and Peter-Arthur Stahl, age twenty-nine, respectively, sailed in company from Brest on July 1. On the afternoon of July 3, a B-24 of British Squadron 224, piloted by Peter J. Cundy, sighted Hasenschar in U-628 on the surface in Biscay. This aircraft carried a load of experimental thirty-five-pound ASW contact bombs (to be dropped in one stick of eighteen) and, consequently, only four depth charges. On the first at tack into heavy flak, Cundy dropped the stick of bombs and one depth charge. The bombs fell wide; the depth charge “bounced off the conning tower” into the sea.