“On this day in history” German submarine U-200 sunk, 1943

“On this day in history,” 24 June 1943, German Type IXD2 submarine U-200 (KrvKpt. Heinrich Schonder) sunk with depth charges by a Liberator aircraft from No. 120 Squadron, RAF Coastal Command.

Amazingly, a photograph of the attack is in the IWM archives.

Dept charge attack on U-200 (IWM C3763)

The Liberator (serial 120/H) was piloted by Flight Lieutenant Alexander Fraser, Royal Australian Air Force, operating from Reykjavik, Iceland. As you can see from the photograph, Fraser caught U-200 on the surface and his two depth charges straddled the U-boat perfectly.

Fraser was awarded a bar to his Distinguished Flying Cross for his “magnificent example of determination to destroy the enemy in the face of opposition.”

U-200 was lost with all hands. The figure of 67 dead includes not only the U-boat’s crew, but also a 7-man German special forces unit of Brandenburg commandos. The Brandenburg unit was in transit to South Africa, where they were to be landed and make contact with anti-British sympathizers in the Boer community.

 

“On this day in history” Avenger aircraft sink submarine U-118

“On this day in history” 12 June 1943, German Type XB submarine U-118 (KrvKpt. Werner Czygan) was sunk with depth charges by a flight of Avenger aircraft operating from the US Navy escort carrier USS Bogue (ACV/CVE-9). There were 43 dead (including Czygan) and 16 survivors. The wreck of U-118 lays west of the Canary Islands at 30.49N, 33.49W.

Remarkably, a gun camera photo of the attack exists. The photo is in the collection of US Naval History and Heritage Command.

Fourth attack run on U-118, TBF pilot Ltjg W. F. Chamberlain, USNR. Staffed U-boat and dropped two depth charges. (NHHC 80-G-6894)

“On this day in history” German U-Boat losses, 8 June

German submarine losses “on this day in history” 8 June.

U-373 (Oblt. Detlef von Lehsten) lost 8 June 1944. Sunk with depth charges by a Liberator from No. 224 Squadron RAF. There were 4 killed and 47 survivors.

U-740 (Kptlt. Günther Stark) lost 8 June 1944. Sunk with depth charges by a Liberator from No. 224 Squadron RAF. All hands (51) lost.

U-970 (Kptlt. Hans-Heinrich Ketels) lost 8 June 1944. Sunk with depth charges by a Sunderland from No. 228 Squadron RAF. There were 38 killed and 14 survivors.

‘Perpetual Motion’ The Avro Shackleton (1992)

OTDIH 23 October 1943

70-years ago today…

Großadmiral Karl Dönitz has 95 U-boats at sea. The Battle of the Atlantic was not over.

In the South Atlantic:

U-170, a Type IXC U-boat, KptLt Günther Pfeffer commanding, on its 2nd war patrol, torpedoed and sunk the unescorted Brazilian steam merchant Campos (4,663 GRT) 5-miles south of Alcatrazes Island, Brazil. The crew of 57 and 6 passengers took to the ship’s lifeboats, tragically two of which were struck by the ship’s screw, throwing the occupants to the water. 10 crew members and 2 passengers were lost.

SS Campos.

In the Black Sea:

U-23, a Type IIB U-boat, KptLt Rolf-Birger Wahlen commanding, on its 12th war patrol, torpedoed and sunk the Soviet motor merchant Tanais (372 GRT) anchored at Poti, Georgian SSR. The U-Boat was operating in the Black Sea with the 30th U-Boat Flotilla… having been transported overland to Konstanza, Rumania in 1942.

Type IIB coastal U-boat.

Setting a wartime record:

U-196, a Type IXD U-boat, KKpt Eitel-Friedrich Kentrat commanding, returned to Bordeaux, France… thus completing the longest patrol by any submarine during the Second World War: 256-days from 13 March to 23 October 1943.

KKpt Eitel-Friedrich Kentrat.

Attacked in the Atlantic:

U-190, a Type IXC U-boat, KptLt Max Wintermeyer commanding, on her 3rd war patrol, was surfaced ahead of convoy GUS-18 when attacked by the US Navy Gleaves-class destroyer USS Turner (DD-648). The Turner attacked the surfaced U-boat with her Mk 12 5-inch/38-caliber guns. When the U-190 submerged, the Turner attacked with depth charges… shock waves from which disabled the destroyer’s radar and sound gear. By the time Turner was able to resume her search, U-190 had escaped.

USS Turner (DD-648).

Royal Navy suffers double disaster during Operation Tunnel:

During Operation Tunnel, HMS Charybdis, a Dido-class cruiser commissioned into the Royal Navy in 1941, Captain George Arthur Wallis Voelcker, RN commanding, was sunk off north coast of Brittany, France in position 48º59’N, 03º39’W by 2 torpedoes from the German Elbing-class torpedo boats T-23 and T-27 (not MTBs, but torpedo-armed destroyers). 464 men died (including the commanding officer) and 107 survived.

HMS Charybdis.

During the same action, HMS Limbourne (L57), a Hunt-class escort destroyer, Cdr Walter John Phipps, RN commanding, was heavily damaged by German torpedo boats T-22 and T-24. Damaged beyond repair, Limbourne was sunk by gunfire from HMS Rocket (H92) and HMS Talybont (L18).

HMS Limbourne.

Royal Navy divers clear unexploded WW2 ordnance from St Peter Port, Guernsey

Royal Navy clearance divers from Southern Diving Group have successfully disposed of another nasty piece of leftover WW2 ordnance.

The unexploded object (now exploded in a controlled manner) was reported to be a German Mark 1 depth charge.

UPDATE: The explosive ordnance was successfully detonated at 12.26 pm today.

— Guernsey Police (@GuernseyPolice) October 17, 2013

Submarine Patrol (1943)

OTDIH 6 September 1943

70-years ago today…

There were 72 U-boats at sea. The Battle of the Atlantic was most definitely not over.

U-617, a Type VIIC U-boat, on its 7th war patrol, Kptlt. Albrecht Brandi commanding, attacked HMS Puckeridge (L108) with two torpedoes approx. 40-miles east of Gibraltar. There were 62 killed and 129 survivors. Puckeridge’s wreck lays at 36º06´N, 04º44´W.

HMS Puckeridge, Hunt class destroyer escort, torpedoed and sunk by U-617 on 6 September 1943.

U-515, a Type IXC U-boat, on its 5th war patrol, Kptlt. Werner Henke commanding, after tracking the merged convoys OS-54 and KMS-25 for the whole day, closed in to attack but was sighted and had to dive. Accurate depth charging by the River-class frigate HMS Tavy (K272) drove the boat down to 820ft (50m), and caused severe damage. Henke managed to escape and broke off the patrol, reaching Lorient on 12 Sept.

HMS Tavy (K272), River-class frigate, attacked U-515 with depth charges on 6 September 1943.

HM submarines strike back in the Mediterranean.

HMS Sportsman (P229), Lt. R. Gatehouse, DSC, RN commanding, sank the Italian fishing vessels Angiolina P (39 GRT) and Maria Luisa B (37 GRT) with gunfire in the port of Aléria, Corsica, France.

HMS Sportsman (P229), S-class submarine serving in the Mediterranean, sank Italian shipping on 6 September 1943.

HMS Universal (P57), Lt. C. Gordon, RN, sank the Italian auxiliary patrol vessels V 130/Ugo (114 GRT) and V 134/Tre Sorelle (178 GRT) with gunfire west of La Spezia, Italy.

QF 3-inch 20 cwt deck gun.

Kursk: A Submarine in Troubled Waters (2004)

OTDIH 31 July 1943

70-years ago today…

The bloody U-boat war dragged on:

U-572 (Oblt. Heinz Kummetat), a Type VIIC U-boat on its ninth war patrol, repelled an Allied air attack east of Trinidad.

U-199 (Kptlt. Hans-Werner Kraus), a Type IXD U-boat on its first war patrol, was sunk by a US Navy Martin PBM Mariner aircraft from VP-74 in the South Atlantic east of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. There are 12 survivors from the crew of 61 and these are picked up by USS Barnegat (AVP-10).

HMAS Nizam (Cdr. C. H. Brooks, RAN commanding) picked up 6 survivors from the British merchant ‘Cornish City’ that had been torpedoed and sunk on 29th July.

In the Pacific:

USS Pogy (Lt. Cdr. George Herrick Wales, USN commanding), a Gato-class submarine on her second war patrol, torpedoed and sank the Japanese aircraft transport Mogamigawa Maru (7469 GRT) northwest of Truk.

USS Saury (Lt. Cdr. A. H. Dropp, USN commanding), a Sargo-class submarine on her seventh war patrol, was rammed by a Japanese escort in the Philippine Sea and, sustaining damage, was forced to return to Pearl Harbor.

HMCS St. Catherines (K 325), a River-class frigate built at Yarrows Ltd in Esquimalt, British Columbia was commissioned into the Royal Canadian Navy, Lt. Cdr. Herbert Coates Reynard Davis, RCNR commanding.

USS Aspro (SS-309), a Balao-class submarine built at Portsmouth Naval Shipyard in Kittery, Maine was commissioned into the United States Navy, Lt. Cdr. Harry Clinton Stevenson, USN commanding.

USS Young (DD 580), a Fletcher-class destroyer built at Consolidated Steel in Orange, Texas was commissioned into the United States Navy, Lt. Cdr. George Bernard Madden, USN commanding.

USS Young (DD 580) off Charleston, South Carolina, 18 October 1943.