by Clay Blair
49. Probably shot down an American B-24 of Squadron 19 on 7/20.
50. Resailed under a new skipper and laid a minefield off Dakar on 6/6/43.
51. First “flak” boat. Shot down a Sunderland on 5/24 but aborted with battle damage.
52. Diverted to be provisional tankers, U-170, U-530, U-535, and U-536 gave all possible fuel to U-tanker U-488 or to other inbound and outbound attack boats.
53. Shot down a Wildcat fighter from Core.
54. U-373 was to mine Port Lyautey but was damaged by an aircraft and aborted.
55. Shot down the Sunderland that sank the U-boat.
56. The 1,190-ton Canadian destroyer St. Croix, sunk with one of the first T-5 Wren (Gnat) homing torpedoes used in combat.
57. Shared credit with U-238 for 7,176-ton Frederick Douglass.
58. Shot down airplane in Biscay.
59. Refueled and sailed from Norway with U-275 and U-422. Shared credit with U-645 for Frederick Douglass.
60. Polish destroyer Orkan.
61. British frigate Itchen.
62. Including the 925-ton British corvette Polyanthus.
63. British frigate Lagan.
64. Landed agent on Iceland on 9/25.
65. Shot down British Lancaster bomber.
66. Later collided with U-631 and aborted.
67. After severe damage by aircraft, grounded on the coast of Spain and scuttled.
68. Shot down a B-24 of Squadron 53.
69. Rammed and sunk by the American destroyer Borie, which also sank from collision damage.
70. Probably shot down the U.S. Navy B-24 that sank it.
71. Rescued twenty-one survivors of the German destroyer Z-27 and shot down a Sunderland.
72. Benker killed in air attack 1/2/44.
73. British destroyer Hurricane.
74. Rescued crew of scuttled U-284 and returned to France.
75. Incurred heavy sea damage and scuttled.
76. Shot down the Wellington that sank her, piloted by Leighton D. Richards.
77. Shot down attacking B-17.
78. Skipper Bork came down with appendicitis.
79. British frigate Tweed.
80. Scuttled after receiving severe damage from Allied aircraft; one crewman was killed, the rest rescued by U-714.
81. American destroyer Leary.
82. Shot down a British B-24 and a British Halifax in the Bay of Biscay.
83. She and a surface-ship escort shot down two Beaufighters.
84. Severely damaged in Biscay by two aircraft.
85. Sunk by a B-24 of U.S. Navy Squadron VB 103.
86. Age twenty-one, the youngest skipper yet in the Atlantic force.
87. Shot down a Leigh Light-equipped Wellington.
88. Rescued fifty-six-man crew of the scuttled U-545 on 2/11 and returned to France.
89. Shot down a British Mosquito.
90. British sloop Woodpecker.
91. British destroyer Warwick.
92. As an R&D experiment, U-986 was fitted with antiaircraft-rocket arrays around the conning tower.
93. British frigate Gould.
94. To Training Command.
95. Laid unproductive minefield off Casablanca on 3/31/44.
96. Including British LST 362,
97. American destroyer escort Leopold. Thereafter boat was ordered to the Mediterranean, but Allied forces turned her back.
98. Hit by six Allied aircraft, which killed four and severely wounded three men. German forces rescued the other crew.
99. Designated a “picket” boat, she was fitted with several radar detectors and search radars. She hit the American destroyer escort Donnell with a T-5. It was towed to harbor but was a complete loss.
100. Shot down a B-24 of British Squadron 120.
101. Shot down a Halifax of British Squadron 58 before being sunk by a Canadian Wellington of Squadron 407.
102. Hit by aircraft.
103. Sailed from Kiel to Norway. Hit in North Sea by aircraft, put into Bergen for extended repairs. Resailed in August.
104. American destroyer escort Fiske.
105. Rammed by a German vessel and decommissioned in Narvik.
106. British frigate Mourne.
107. Some sources credited U-988 with sinking three ships for 10,368 tons in late June, including the 925-ton British corvette Pink, and two British freighters. Alex Niestlé writes that it is likely U-988 was sunk on 6/30, a revision which supports that case.
108. The trawler Noreen Mary.
109. While testing a new bridge configuration, the boat made a weather patrol to the Atlantic that terminated in France by mistake.
110. The boat was decommissioned because of severe battle damage.
111. Seven snort boats sailed from Brest on D day, June 6. Authors often put this number at eight, but the eighth snort boat, U-212, sailed from La Pallice that day.
112. Put into Guernsey.
113. Put into Guernsey.
114. Shot down a B-24.
115. Shot down a B-24.
116. Damaged British frigate Blackwood, which sank under tow.
117. American LST 280.
118. Put into Guernsey.
119. Wrecked American Liberty ships Henry G. Blasdel, John A. Treutlen, and James A. Farrell. Damaged British frigate Goodson and American Liberty ship Edward M. House.
120. Planted minefield off Lands End on 7/1. A mine damaged the 7,200-ton British freighter Empire Halberd.
121. Planted minefield off Plymouth. No success.
122. Werner claimed he shot down an aircraft, perhaps a B-24.
123. From La Pallice and again on 6/12 and 6/22, then put into Brest.
124. Put into Brest.
125. Put into Brest.
126. Put into Brest.
127. Put into Brest.
128. Put into Brest.
129. Shot down a B-17 and a B-24.
130. Battle and mechanical damage forced her retirement in St. Nazaire on 8/19.
131. Shot down a British Sunderland.
132. Clemens apparently shot down the attacking B-24.
133. Hit a mine off Brest and was scrapped.
134. Sank British troopship (LSI) Prince Leopold, possibly damaged other ships.
135. Was to lay a minefield off Lands End, but lost beforehand.
136. Including the 925-ton Canadian corvette Regina, the 1,653-ton American LST 921, and the 246-ton American LCI 99.
137. Because of heavy battle damage the boat was retired in La Pallice.
138. Including the 925-ton Canadian corvette Alberni and the 850-ton British minesweeper Loyalty.
139. Laid minefield off Plymouth.
140. Including British corvette Hurst Castle.
141. Damaged American Navy supply ship Yukon.
142. Canadian frigate Chebogue, towed in but a total loss.
143. British frigate Whitaker, towed in but a total loss.
144. Includes 1,600-ton American LST 359 and the 335-ton Free French patrol craft L’Enjoue. In addition, Hechler severely damaged the American destroyer escort Fogg.
145. British “jeep” carrier Thane, severely damaged and not repaired during the war.
146. British frigate Bullen.
147. Includes the 7,177-ton British troopship (LSI) Empire Javelin.
148. Damaged 1,700-ton British destroyer Zephyr.
149. Includes the 11,509-ton British troopship Leopoldville and British frigates Capel and Affleck, the latter towed in but a total wreck.
150. Damaged British frigate Manners.
151. Sailed from Heligoland to the mouth of the Thames River and returned to Heligoland.
152. Put into St. Nazaire with a broken snorkel.
153. British corvette Vervain.
154. British ASW trawler Ellesmere.
155. Took ammo and other supplies to St. Nazaire.
156. Includes the 980-ton Canadian corvette Trentonian.
157. Sank Canadian minesweeper Guyeboro
ugh and took ammo and other supplies to St. Nazaire.
158. Hit a mine off Fastnet, southern Ireland, and scuttled. The crew got ashore in Ireland.
159. Canadian frigate Teme.
160. After snorkel repairs, sailed from St. Nazaire to resume patrol.
161. At the time, her loss was incorrectly credited to a B-24 of British Squadron 120 piloted by L. J. White. Franks (1995) writes that White probably attacked U-1003 for damage.
162. Hit a mine in Horten and sank before embarking on patrol.
163. Abandoned and captured but sank under tow.
164. Including 425-ton Norwegian minesweeper Nordhav II.
165. Norwegian minesweeper NYMS 382.
166. Returned from St. Nazaire to Norway.
167. Laid minefield in Firth of Clyde, sank British trawler Ethel Crawford.
168. Refueled in La Pallice for a patrol off Gibraltar.
169. Was to lay minefield at Dundee but sunk beforehand.
170. Was to lay minefield at Cherbourg but sunk beforehand.
171. Lost on return from St. Nazaire to Norway.
172. Embarked ammo and other supplies for St. Nazaire, but did not complete the mission.
173. Sunk by British submarine Tapir.
174. Ran aground off Peterhead, Scotland, and abandoned.
175. Made a second patrol from Heligoland, returned to Bergen.
176. British frigate Redmill, a total wreck.
177. Scuttled off the Portuguese coast; crew survived.
178. Three days after sailing, two British PT boats attacked, killing the skipper, Riekeberg, The engineer, Klaus Weber, returned the boat to Stavanger.
179. Was to lay minefield at Portland Bill but mission canceled. Later grounded on Portuguese coast and scuttled; crew survived.
180. Was to lay minefield at Hartlepool but mission canceled.
181. Recommissioned in St. Nazaire. Laid minefield at Les Sables l’Olonne.
182. Off the Firth of Forth, sank the last two freighters of the war: the 1,800-ton Norwegian Sneland and the 2,900-ton British Avondale Park.
183. Raised in 1993, barged to Liverpool for display.
APPENDIX 3
ALLIED CARGO-CONVOY SAILINGS ON THE NORTH ATLANTIC RUN
IN THE “CRITICAPLE RIOD”S:E PTEMBE1R94 2-MAY 1943’
NOVEMBER 1942: (15)
Note: In November 1942, Axis submarines in all waters sank 126 Allied ships for 802,160 gross tons, the best month of the war for the U-boats (see Appendix 20). Some historians and authors use the November 1942 figures to assert or imply that in so doing, German U-boats very nearly cut the vital North Atlantic convoy “lifeline” between the Americas and the British Isles. In fact, Jürgen Rohwer (Successes) states that German U-boats operating against the North Atlantic convoy “lifeline” in November sank twenty-nine cargo ships for 166,662 gross tons: fifteen loaded eastbound ships from Slow Convoy 107 for 82,817 tons, six empty westbound ships from Outbound North (Slow) 144 for 26,321 tons, and one ship each from Slow Convoy 109, Outbound North 143, and Outbound North 145 for an aggregate 19,524 tons, plus five cargo vessels sailing outside convoys for 38,000 tons. The other ninety-seven ships for 635,492 tons, Rohwer states, were sunk in other waters—for example, thirty in the Indian Ocean. For other examples, see Plates 3 and 4.
MARCH 1943: (16)
Note: In March 1943, Axis submarines in all waters sank 110 Allied ships for 633,731 tons, the third-best month of the war in tonnage sunk by U-boats (see Appendix 18, Volume I, and Appendix 20, this volume). Rohwer states that of the 110 ships lost, forty loaded eastbound ships were sunk on the North Atlantic “lifeline” from convoys Halifax 227, 228, 229, 230, and Slow Convoys 121 and 122, three empty westbound ships from Outbound North 168 and Outbound North (Slow) 169, and four other ships sailing outside convoys. Total in the North Atlantic area in March: forty-seven ships, the worst Allied setback of the war on that “lifeline.” The other sixty-three ships, Rohwer states, were sunk in other waters—for example, twenty-three in the Mediterranean Sea and the Indian Ocean.
1. Based on data in Jürgen Rohwer’s Critical Convoy Battles of March, 1943 and Axis Submarine Successes, and British Monthly Anti-Submarine Reports and, other sources. Losses include stragglers and rompers.
2. ON 125 was the first westbound convoy to terminate in New York.
3. Including Canadian destroyer Ottawa I.
4. HX 208 and SC 102 were the first eastbound convoys to sail from New York. The first departed on 9/17, the second on 9/19. The official Canadian historian wrote that convoys HX 1 to HX 207 from Halifax had sailed with 8,501 ships and SC 1 to SC 94 had sailed with 3,652 ships. SC 95 (8/4/42) to SC 101 (318 ships) sailed from Halifax, not Sydney. All told: 12,471 vessels.
5. Including British destroyer Veteran.
6. All ships of SC 107 were sunk in November.
7. Including Norwegian corvette Montbretia.
8. Sunk in December.
9. Badly damaged on 11/18, this ship, the 9,100-ton American tanker Brilliant, sank under tow on 1/25/43.
10. Sunk in December. Two other ships of this convoy were sunk in December after leaving it to sail alone.
11. Including British destroyer Firedrake.
12. On 1/1/43, the escort was reinforced halfway across the Atlantic by a new (1942) U.S. Navy fleet destroyer, Pringle. She was one of six U.S. destroyers (DD 476 to DD 481) fitted with a catapult and derrick to launch and recover an OS2U Kingfisher floatplane. The scheme was a failure; all six destroyers were restored to standard fighting configuration.
13. Plus two 10-ton LCVs.
14. Upon arrival in the British Isles, group withdrawn for training.
15. Plus three 143-ton LCT landing craft.
16. Upon arrival in the British Isles, group withdrawn for training,
17. All ships sunk in February.
18. Upon arrival in the British Isles, group withdrawn for training.
19. One of these, the Liberty ship Meriwether Lewis, was sunk in March.
20. Plus two tankers damaged and towed to St. John’s.
21. Plus one 143-ton LCT landing craft
22. Sunk in March.
23. Including British destroyer Harvester. The American “jeep” carrier Bogue hunter-killer group inaugurated operations with convoy Halifax 228, but after a few days she returned to Argentia on 3/14. She resailed 3/20 with SC 123 but returned again to Argentia on 3/30 and then to Boston for repairs.
24. A KM MK escort group that sailed directly from the British Isles on 3/3/43, to St. John’s specifically to escort special convoy Halifax 229A.
25. Plus one 143-ton LCT landing craft.
26. After convoy Outbound North (Slow) 171, slow westbound convoys were designated by a new numerical sequence and terminated in Halifax, beginning with Outbound North (Slow) 1.
27. Including ex-American British four-stack destroyer Beverley.
28. Sailed from New York on 4/1 at night in dense fog and became intermingled with convoy UGS 7, resulting in collisions and aborts that reduced ships sailing in HX 232 from fifty to thirty-four.
29. For the first time, on 4/23, Bogue, with five destroyers, sailed with a convoy all the way across the Atlantic to Belfast, where she was fitted with Huff Duff. She returned to the Americas in company with ON 184 in May.
30. Commencing with SC 125 on 3/31, Slow Convoys sailed from Halifax.
31. The British Support Group 5, consisting of the “jeep” carrier Biter and four destroyers, sailed from Iceland on 4/21 and inaugurated westbound operations with Outbound North (Slow) 4. Thus Biter and Bogue were at sea in the Greenland “Air Gap” at the same time.
32. A new Canadian MOEF group: new destroyers Ottawa II and Kootenay and five corvettes, in effect replacing A-3.
33. The British Support Group 5, consisting of “jeep” carrier Biter and three destroyers, inaugurated eastbound operations with HX 237 and SC 129.
34. The British Support Group 4, consisting of the “jeep” carri
er Archer, three destroyers, and one sloop, inaugurated eastbound operations with HX 239.
35. The first merchant aircraft carrier (MAC ship), Empire Mac Alpine, 8,200 tons, sailed with ONS 9, carrying four Swordfish aircraft. Loaded with grain, she returned to the U.K. with SC 135, which sailed from Halifax on 6/27.
APPENDIX 4
1. All in Group Streitaxt, which encountered and attacked convoy Sierra Leone 125. Of these, only U-134 proceeded to Freetown as planned.
2. Hirsacker relieved, tried for cowardice, found guilty, executed 4/24/43.
3. Group Seehund (GS), which sailed to the South Atlantic, Cape Town, and the Indian Ocean.
4. Transferred the political activist Subhas Chandra Bose, his aide, and cargo to the Japanese submarine 1-29, and received cargo in return. Later shot down a Hampden bomber.
5. Hit the American Liberty ship Flora MacDonald, which beached, a total loss.
6. Arrived at the island of Penang, Malaya, to establish a German U-boat base.
7. Arrived in Penang. Designated “Marco Polo I,” U-511 was a gift from Hitler to Japan. She arrived in Japan on 9/16/43 and was redesignated RO-500.
8. The Cappellini, Giuliani, and Torelli were seized by the Japanese on 9/8/43, when Italy capitulated. Returned to Germany on about December 1943, redesignated U-IT23, U-IT24, U-IT25. In February 1944, these three ex-Italian boats set off from Penang to France with cargoes. None made it. The surviving two, U-IT24 (ex-Cappellini) and U-IT25 (ex-Torelli), were re-seized by the Japanese on 5/8/45, when Germany capitulated and were redesignated 1-503 and 1-504, respectively.
9. Embarked “coastal troops” (Küstentruppe) of the Brandenburg Division, lost with the entire crew in the sinking.
10. Refueled Monsun boats and returned to France.
11. Diverted from Monsun to be a refueler.
12. Was to mine Lagos, but was sunk before the mission was carried out. Possibly shot down an aircraft in Biscay.
13. Laid eight TMC mines at Takoradi on 10/31. After returning, the boat retired to the Baltic.
14. Returned three British POWs to France.
15. Includes British sloop Chanticleer, towed to port but not repaired.
16. Rescued thirty-four German survivors of torpedo boat T-25 and returned to France.