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

by Clay Blair

  To assist with manpower and medical supplies, U-boat Control arranged for U-373 to rendezvous on August 5 with the IXC40 U-190, a May boat commanded by Max Wintermeyer, returning from the Americas. However, the meeting failed and both boats returned to France independently. When the U-373 reached La Pallice on August 16, Loeser left the boat for other duty. She did not sail again until October.

  • The VII flak boat U-441, commanded by Götz von Hartmann, age twenty- nine, which sailed from Brest on July 8. While patrolling in Biscay on the after noon of July 12, a flight of three twin-engine Beaufighters of British Squadron 248 found and attacked U-441 with machine guns and 20mm cannons. This intense fire, directed by the three pilots, C.R.B. Schofield, P.A.S. Payne, and G, C. New man, and mounted through an astonishing wall of flak from U-441, killed ten Germans and wounded thirteen others, including von Hartmann and all of his officers. The boat’s doctor, a “keen and efficient amateur yachtsman,” assumed command of U-441, got the injured below, dived, and took the boat back to Brest, arriving on July 13. Confusingly, the wounded skipper, Götz von Hartmann, was relieved by the boat’s former skipper, Klaus Hartmann. Although the experiences of U-441 indicated that the flak boat was a very bad concept, the conversion of the other seven VIIs to flak configuration continued and the next one, U-621, sailed in August.

  • The veteran XIV U-tanker U-459, commanded by Georg von Wilamowitz- Möllendorf, age forty-nine, which sailed from Bordeaux on July 22 in company with a sister-ship tanker, the U-461, and another boat. On the first day, the U-461 developed a bad leak and aborted; her sister ship, U-459, and the other boat continued to sea, separating. Three days out from Bordeaux on July 24, a Wellington of British Squadron 172, piloted by W.H.T. Jennings, found U-459 late in the day and attacked out of low clouds. Wilamowitz-Möllendorf remained on the surface and manned his new quad 20mm and twin 20mm guns and opened fire. Jennings boldly flew into this very heavy flak barrage and crashed into the starboard side of U-459, demolishing the quad 20mm and other guns and killing or wounding half a dozen of U-459’s crew.

  Utter chaos ensued. The Germans cut away the wreckage of the Wellington fuselage and pushed it into the sea. Upon doing so, they found three unexploded depth charges, two on the bridge and one on the afterdeck. Apparently unaware that the depth charges were fitted with shallow-set pistols, Wilamowitz-Möllendorf rang up full speed and ordered his men to roll them overboard. One or more of the charges exploded as designed beneath the stern of U-459, inflicting horrendous damage.

  A second aircraft appeared on the scene, a Wellington of British Squadron 547, piloted by J. Whyte. Upon seeing U-459, which was slowly circling out of control stern down, he attacked, dropping eight depth charges at wave-top level in a close straddle. These explosions dashed any hopes the U-459 crew may have had of limping home. In a second attack run, Whyte dropped several more depth charges and raked the topside with machine-gun fire, killing and wounding more Germans and destroying some of the dinghies.

  Following this attack, Wilamowitz-Möllendorf ordered his men to abandon ship and scuttle. As the dinghies pulled away, he saluted his men, then went below and opened the vents. Observed by Whyte and his aircrew, the U-459 sank swiftly by the stern. This second Wellington and other aircraft directed the Polish-manned destroyer Orkan to the scene. Seven to eight hours after the first Wellington attacked, the Poles picked up forty-one Germans and one British airman, A. A. Turner, who had been blown out of the crashed Wellington and had climbed into his own dinghy. The Admiralty assessment committee gave credit for the kill to the first Wellington and in view of his “high degree of courage” recommended Jennings for a posthumous Victoria Cross. The loss of this valuable U-tanker was another severe blow to the Atlantic U-tanker force.

  • The new XIV tanker U-489, commanded by Adalbert Schmandt, age thirty- three, which sailed from Kiel on July 22 in company with a new VII, U-647, commanded by Willi Hertin, age twenty-nine. Off Norway on July 29, Control notified Schmandt and Hertin to search for a German aircrew that had ditched after a losing match with a Beaufighter of Canadian Squadron 404. Schmandt found the three Germans, took them on board, and proceeded to the Atlantic, still in company with the U-647.

  A few days later, on August 3, a Hudson of British Squadron 269, flown by E.L J. Brame, found the tanker U-489 in a position south of Iceland and mounted two attacks with 100-pound ASW bombs in the face of the U-boat’s quad 20mm and other flak guns. The first bomb missed, but the second fell close. When two other aircraft appeared (a B-17 and a Catalina), Schmandt dived deep (656 feet) and escaped. But the single bomb caused a leak of seawater into the after battery, posing the possibility of chlorine gas. Schmandt surfaced to radio U-boat Control of the mishap and to request orders, drawing in “several destroyers” that drove the boat under again. Schmandt’s men fixed the leak, but the warships mounted a dogged hunt, dropping depth charges. None fell close; however, the destroyers held U-489 down until her batteries were exhausted, and she was forced to surface the next morning.

  When U-489 came up on August 4, a Sunderland of Canadian Squadron 423, piloted by A. A. Bishop, son of a World War I ace, spotted her almost immediately and notified the destroyers and others. Bishop then attacked U-489 from the stern, flying straight into the flak from the quad 20mm, which set the aircraft on fire. Bishop dropped six accurate shallow-set depth charges, then crash-landed into the sea. Six of the plane’s eleven-man crew survived, including Bishop.

  When three British destroyers, including Castleton and Orwell appeared, Schmandt ordered his crew to abandon ship and scuttle. As she went down, there was an unexplained but “terrific” explosion in the aft section that mortally wounded the chief engineer. About twenty minutes later, Castleton picked up Schmandt and the other fifty-three members of the crew, including the chief engineer, who later died aboard Castleton, plus the three German airmen who had been rescued by U-489. The Castleton then picked up pilot Bishop and five of his aircrew who were less than one hundred yards away. Although numerous aircraft and ships had participated in the destruction of U-489, the Admiralty assessment committee gave sole credit for the kill to Bishop and his Canadian aircrew and awarded Bishop a DFC for killing this valuable German U-tanker, yet another big setback to the Atlantic force.

  The U-647, commanded by Willi Hertin, the new VII that sailed from Kiel in company with U-489, had orders to serve as a radio decoy off Greenland and to report when it had passed a particular position south of Iceland. Hertin must have been close by when U-489 went down, but he did not speak up then or later and the loss of U-647 remains a mystery. Possibly Hertin was sunk by the Allied aircraft and/or surface ships that attacked U-489 at this time or possibly he hit a British mine in the Iceland-Faeroes gap. On August 11, Control noted that neither U-647 nor the tanker U-489 had been heard from and therefore both were presumed to be lost.

  • The veteran VII U-404, commanded by a new skipper, Adolf Schonberg, age twenty-four, which sailed from St. Nazaire on July 24 with U-614, one of the three boats assigned to the Mediterranean that was sunk.

  The U-404 had achieved fame under Otto von Bülow, who won a Ritterkreuz with Oak Leaves. He was all set to take her on this patrol but on the day before the scheduled sailing, he received orders from Viktor Schutze to leave U-404 at once and take command of the new 23rd Training Flotilla in the Baltic. It was wrenching to leave his veteran crew, von Bülow remembered, but as it turned out, the last-minute transfer was lifesaving. The new skipper, Schonberg, had earlier served on U-404 for a year as first watch officer before commanding a school duck.

  In late afternoon of the fifth day out, July 28, two B-24s of U.S. Army Air Forces Squadron 4, piloted by this unit’s commander, Stephen D. McElroy, and Arthur J. Hammer, found and attacked U-404 in the face of very heavy flak. McElroy dropped eight depth charges, but these only damaged U-404. In turn, U-404 hit one of McElroy’s engines, forcing him to abort. Responding to McElroy’s alert, Hammer made two runs, strafing and dropping twelve depth charge
s. With his plane badly riddled, he too had to break off, and he returned to a base in southwest England.

  During Hammer’s attack, a B-24 of British Squadron 224, piloted by Robert V. Sweeny, arrived on the scene. Sweeny attacked “straight in,” accurately dropping seven depth charges from nearly wave-top level. These destroyed U-404 with all hands. Sweeny reported seeing “about ten bodies” in the water, but he could not tarry because one of his engines was on fire and his B-24 was also riddled by flak. He made an emergency landing in southwest England and all aboard lived to tell the tale. The Admiralty credited both Hammer and Sweeny with the kill of U-404. Sweeny and a crewman were awarded DFCs.

  • The VII U-383, commanded by Horst Kremser, age twenty-five, which sailed from Brest on July 29. On August 1, a Sunderland of British Squadron 228, piloted by Stanley White, found and attacked U-383. On the first run German gunners riddled the Sunderland, inflicting heavy damage on the starboard wing. On a second run White dropped seven depth charges that destroyed the U-boat. He reported that he saw Germans jumping into the water, but owing to his own damage, could not stay. Kremser had time to radio an SOS to Control stating he was “unable to dive” and “out of control.” In response, German aircraft, three torpedo boats, and three U-boats looked for survivors of U-383 the next day, but found none.

  • Seven U-boats sailed from Lorient and Bordeaux on July 27 and July 28: one VII, four IXs, and two Type XIV U-tankers, U-461 and U-462. On her routine deep-dive test, the VII, U-231, commanded by thirty-three-year-old Wolfgang Wenzel, developed leaks and he aborted. Inbound to La Pallice, the boat triggered a British mine that exploded six feet from the hull, Wenzel reported. He reached La Pallice, but repairs kept U-231 in port until late September.

  The other six boats of this group proceeded onward into Biscay only to meet intense Allied air and surface hunter-killer patrols. In one memorable day, July 30, British aircraft sank three of the six, including the two valuable XIV U-tankers, yet another crippling blow to the Atlantic U-boat force.

  The action began in the morning when a B-24 of British Squadron 53, piloted by W. Irving, found the three boats and gave the alarm. This brought in six other aircraft: a Sunderland of British Squadron 228, a Catalina of British Squadron 210, a B-24 of American Army ASW Squadron 19, two Halifaxes of British Squadron 502, and a Sunderland of Australian Squadron 461. The aircraft also homed in the five sloops of Johnny Walker’s 2nd Support Group.

  Wary of the nests of flak guns on the group of U-boats, the bombers circled beyond range, plotting an attack scheme. A Halifax of British Squadron 502 made the first attack and dropped three of the new 600-pound ASW bombs from an altitude of 1,600 feet using a special bombsight. The bombs fell wide; the German gunners damaged the Halifax. A second Halifax of 502 Squadron followed with three separate attack runs, each time dropping a single 600-pound bomb from three thousand feet. One of these bombs hit and crippled Bruno Vowe’s tanker, U-462, which slowed, then stopped dead in the water.

  Three or four aircraft attacked Vowe’s crippled U-462 and Wolf-Harro Stiebler’s undamaged tanker, U-461. In the lead of this group was a B-24 of British Squadron 53, flown by W. Irving. Next came a B-24 of Army Air Forces ASW Squadron 19, piloted by A. L. Leal, followed by a slower Sunderland of Australian Squadron 461, piloted by Dudley Marrows. Pilot Irving in the British B-24 dropped eight depth charges close to the U-462. Pilot Leal in the American B-24 did no damage because his depth-charge release gear, damaged by flak, would not function. Credit for the kill of the valuable XIV U-462 went to a Halifax of British Squadron 502 flown by a Dutchman, A. van Rossum, who later won a DFC. One German gunner on U-462 was killed. Vowe and sixty-three other survivors scuttled ship and got into dinghies.

  The Australian Sunderland, piloted by Marrows, peeled off to attack the other XIV tanker, Stiebler’s U-461. During his attack run, the plane’s machine-gun fire killed the two loaders on the quad 20mm and severely wounded two officers. Consequently, the flak from U-461 was less intense and Marrows was able to drop seven shallow-set depth charges from an altitude of fifty feet. Four missiles fell close to port and starboard of U-461 and smashed her to pieces. Stiebler and fourteen other survivors of his sixty-man crew climbed into dinghies. Forty-five Germans perished in the sinking. The Admiralty gave Marrows sole credit for the kill of U-461.

  At about that time, Johnny Walker’s five sloops arrived on the scene. All five warships opened fire with main batteries on the flooding U-462 and on Wilhelm Luis’s IXC U-504. In a desperate attempt to escape, Luis dived U-504. Walker, in the sloop Kite, got a sonar contact and made the first depth-charge attack. The Wren followed up. Then Kite attacked a second time, followed by Woodpecker, which dropped thirty-two depth charges under Walker’s supervision. Lastly, Woodcock and Wild Goose made similar attacks. These assaults brought to the surface a German “uniform jacket, a human lung, and some well-cured bacon,” the last sign of U-504, which perished with all hands. The Admiralty gave credit for the kill to all five of the sloops, which also shared credit for U-462.

  Later, Walker led his sloops back to the scene of the sinking of the tankers U-461 and U-462. The sloops rescued seventy-nine Germans from the two U-tankers. Still later in the day, Walker’s sloops picked up the crew of a Focke-Wulf Condor that had been shot down by a British Beaufighter the day before.

  Combined with the loss of three other Type XIV “Milk Cow” tankers, U-459, U-487, and U-489, these additional two U-tanker losses—and the accident that befell the new XIV tanker U-490 in the Baltic—reduced the operational tanker force to two XIVs: U-460 and U-488. One consequence was that Control had to divert the other three boats of this newly sailed group, the IXs U-106, U-129, and U-525, to be provisional refuelers. Two of these did not get far:

  • The veteran IXB U-106, commanded by a new skipper, Wolf-Dietrich Damerow, age twenty-four, who had served on the boat as a watch officer for al most two years. He sailed from Lorient in company with a sister ship, U-107, which, as related, planted a minefield in American waters.

  On the fifth day out, August 1, Damerow reported that he had repelled an aircraft, but that it or another was shadowing the boat, doubtless calling in other planes. The shadower was a Wellington of the new Canadian Squadron 407, piloted by a British officer, J. C. Archer, who had dropped six depth charges and had indeed given the alarm.

  Two Sunderlands responded on August 2: one from British Squadron 228, piloted by Reader D. Hanbury, and one from Australian Squadron 461, piloted by Irwin A. F. Clarke. Both aircraft strafed and dropped six depth charges that wrecked U-106. In reaction to Damerow’s SOS, U-boat Control sent four JU-88s and three torpedo boats. The aircraft arrived too late, but the torpedo boats rescued Damerow, his log book, and thirty-five other Germans. Damerow, however, did not survive the war.

  • The IXC40 U-525, commanded by the old hand Hans-Joachim Drewitz, age thirty-five. Control directed Drewitz to refuel VIIs returning from the Americas and Freetown. He was unable to carry out the mission. On August 11, a Wild cat-Avenger team from the “jeep” carrier Card found U-525 on the surface. Jack H. Stewart in the Wildcat strafed and drove the boat under. The Avenger, piloted by Charles G. Hewitt, dropped depth charges and a Fido, which sank the boat with the loss of all hands. As related, six days later, on August 17, when Gerhard Feiler in the U-653, returning from a barren patrol off French Guiana, reported that he had waited in vain for three days at the rendezvous for Drewitz, Control correctly presumed U-525 had been lost.

  The other IX, von Harpe in the IXC U-129, carried out his new mission. He refueled four VIIs returning from Freetown: Ritterkreuz holder Peter Cremer in U-333, adrift with no oil and a sea anchor deployed; Gustav Lüssow in U-571; Bernhard Zurmühlen in U-600; and Kurt Baberg in U-618. On August 20, when von Harpe reported he had completed these refuelings and could spare no more fuel, U-boat Control directed him to return to France. He arrived safely at Lorient on September 5, completing a patrol of forty-one days.

  The loss of U-tankers also
led to the deletion of a Type IXD2 U-cruiser from group Monsun, the new foray to the Indian Ocean. This was the U-847, commanded by Ritterkreuz holder Herbert Kuppisch, who sailed from Kiel on July 6, struck ice in the Denmark Strait, and aborted to Norway, arriving on July 20. After repairs, Kuppisch resailed on July 29, but Control reassigned him to serve as a provisional tanker for the boats returning from the Americas and West Africa.

  Kuppisch reached his refueling area in mid-August. His first task was to replenish some inbound boats from the Americas that had been assigned to refuel from the XB minelayer U-117, herself a provisional tanker that, as related, was sunk on August 7.

  The first homebound boat to find Kuppisch was the wrecked IXC U-66, temporarily commanded by Paul Frerks from U-117, relieving the badly wounded Friedrich Markworth. The rendezvous took place on August 16. In return for a water purifier and lube oil, Kuppisch gave U-66 food and sufficient fuel to get to France. When the U-66 reached Lorient on September 1, Markworth left the boat for hospitalization, and later, other duty. In due course, the chief engineer of U-66y Georg Olschewski, was awarded a Ritterkreuz for his role in saving the boat. Frerks returned to the Training Command as captain of the new VII U-975, which was assigned to the submarine school.

  At least three homebound boats approached Kuppisch in U-847 on August 24. These were Carl Emmermann in the IXC U-172, who had been awarded Oak Leaves to his Ritterkreuz; August Maus in the IXC40 U-185; and Horst Uphoff in the VIIB U-84. As related, Emmermann and Maus were returning from Brazilian waters, each carrying one-half of the crew of Höltring’s VIIC U-604, which had been scuttled, and Uphoff was returning from a barren patrol in the Gulf of Mexico.