OTDIH 9 October 1943

70-years ago today…

U-244, a Type VIIC u-boat, was commissioned into the Kriegsmarine, Oblt. Ruprecht Fischer commanding. The boat conducted 4 war patrols before surrendering at Loch Eriboll in 1945.

Ruprecht Fischer, Kriegsmarine crew photo.

U-616, a Type VIIC u-boat, Oblt. Siegfried Koitschka commanding, sunk the American destroyer USS Buck (DD 420) with a G7e acoustic torpedo off Salerno, Italy in position 39.57N, 14.28E. The destroyer lost 150 dead and there were 97 survivors. Koitschka was awarded the Deutsches Kreuz (in gold) on completion of his patrol.

USS Buck (DD 420)

U-645, a Tupe VIIC u-boat, torpedoed and sunk the US merchantman SS Yorkmar (5,612 GRT) during an attack on convoy SC-143 approx. 475 miles south of Iceland. The ship sank by the stern after 15-minutes. 13 crew members were lost and 54 survivors were picked up by HMCS Kamloops (K176) and HMS Duckworth (K351).

Type VIIC U-boat.

U-737, a Type VIIC u-boat, Kptlt. Paul Brasack commanding, came under fire from a shore battery at Barentsburg, Spitsbergen. The u-boat managed to dive before it sustained any damage. (The moral of this story is that littoral combat is bleedin’ dangerous, chum!)

Barentsburg, Spitsbergen.

The Battle of Atlantic was most decidedly not over. It continued apace. Indeed, on this day 70-yrs ago (9 October 1943), Großadmiral Dönitz had 95 U-boats at sea.

And yet the Allied naval forces continued to grow in strength…

USS Sand Lance (SS-381), a Balao-class submarine built at Portsmouth Navy Yard in Kittery, Maine, was commissioned into the United States Navy, Cdr. Malcolm Everett Garrison, USN. Garrison would win the Navy Cross twice while in command of Sand Lance and retire from the US Navy as a Rear Admiral.

HMS Goodson (K480), a Captain-class frigate built under Lend Lease at the Boston Navy Yard, was commissioned into the Royal Navy, Lt.Cdr. Frank Brown Allen, RNR commanding.

HMS Stratagem (P234), an S-class submarine built at Cammell Laird, was commissioned into the Royal Navy, Lt. Reginald Lewis Willoughby, RNR commanding.

HMS Stratagem (P234).

USS Kingfish (SS-234), a Gato-class submarine, Lt.Cdr. V.L. Lawrence, USN commanding, torpedoed & damaged the Japanese fleet oiler Hayatomo (14,050 GRT) in the Sibitu Channel, Borneo.

USS Wahoo (SS-238), a Gato-class submarine, Cdr. Dudley W. “Mush” Morton, USN commanding, sank the Japanese army cargo ship Hankow Maru (2,995 GRT) off the Oga Peninsula, Japan.

USS Puffer (SS-268), a Gato-class submarine, Lt.Cdr. M.J. Jensen, USN commanding, torpedoed & damaged the Japanese tanker Kumagawa Maru (7,508 GRT) in the Makassar Strait, Borneo. Japanese escorts damaged Puffer with depth charges and the submarine was forced to abandon its attack on the tanker.

Kumagawa Maru auxiliary oiler.

USS Rasher (SS-269), a Gato-class submarine, Cdr. E.S. Hutchinson, USN commanding, torpedoed & sank the Japanese army cargo ship Kogane Maru (3,131 GRT) about 30 nautical miles west of Ambon, Maluku Islands.

OTDIH 23 July 1943

70-years ago today…

Palpable hits:

USS George E. Badger, “flush deck” Clemson class destroyer, sank U-613 (KrvKpt. Helmut Köppe commanding) with depth charges South of the Azores.

Grumman Avenger aircraft from the escort carrier USS Bogue (Capt. Joseph Brantley Dunn, USN commanding) sank U-527 (Kptlt. Herbert Uhlig commanding) with depth charges in the mid-Atlantic.

Near misses:

HMS Newfoundland, Colony class light cruiser, flagship of the 15th Cruiser Squadron, was torpedoed by U-407 (Kptlt. Ernst-Ulrich Brüller commanding) off Syracuse, Sicily and hit in the stern. Newfoundland lost her rudder, but was able to reach Malta, steering using her propellers. After repairs, Newfoundland went on to serve with the Far East Fleet and was present at Tokyo Bay on 2 Sept 1945 when the instrument of surrender was signed aboard USS Missouri.

U-466 (Oblt. Gerhard Thäter commanding) was attacked by American B-18 Bolo and B-24 Liberator bombers East of French Guyana, surviving a first attack by returning fire with anti-aircraft guns, and subsequent attacks by diving.

U-591 (Ltn. Joachim Sauerbier commanding) was attacked twice by an American B-24 Liberator bomber off Cape de Sao Roque, Brazil, but escaped damage by diving during each attack.

In the shipyards:

HMCS Orangeville (K 491), Castle class corvettes, laid down at Henry Robb, Leith. Originally ordered as HMS Hedingham Castle.

HMCS West York (K 369), Flower class corvette, laid down at Midland Shipyards, Ontario.

HMCS West York (K 369)