This record was kindly provided by the generous assistance of Tony Cooper.
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C.B. 4051 (30) |
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"U 501" |
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Interrogation of Survivors |
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October, 1941 |
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SECRET |
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| This book is the property of His Majesty's Government. | ||
| It is intended for the use of the recipients only, and for communication to such Officers under them (not below the rank of Commissioned Officer) who may require to be acquainted with its contents in the course of their duties. The Officers exercising this power will be held responsible that such information is imparted with due care and caution. | ||
C.B. 4051 (30) |
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"U 501" |
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Interrogation of Survivors |
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October, 1941 |
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| NAVAL INTELLIGENCE DIVISION, | ||
| ADMIRALTY, S.W.1. | ||
| N.I.D. 08409/43. | ||
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| The following report is compiled from information derived from prisoners of war. The statements made cannot always be verified; they should therefore not be accepted as facts unless they are definitely stated to be confirmed by information from other sources. | ||
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TABLE OF CONTENTS |
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INTERROGATION OF SURVIVORS OF CREW OF "U 501, " A 740-TON
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| U-BOAT SUNK AT ABOUT 0300 ON THURSDAY, 11TH SEPTEMBER, 1941, | ||
| IN POSITION 62° 55' N. AND 37° 50' W. | ||
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I. INTRODUCTORY REMARKS |
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| "U 501" was sunk on 11th September, 1941, fifteen days after the capture of "U 570"; prisoners from both U-Boats were interrogated at the same time and it was decided that all general information should be collated for publication in the more important report, namely, that on the interrogation of prisoners from "U 570"; therefore this report on "U 501" contains only such information as concerned this U-Boat. | ||
II. CREW OF "U 501" |
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| Of the six officers, fifteen petty officers and twenty-six men forming the complement of "U 501," only the engineer officer, four petty officers and two ratings had ever made a war cruise prior to "U 501's" first and last cruise. Most of the men were very young, the youngest being seventeen years of age, hastily and most inadequately trained, and almost completely inexperienced; they expressed their disillusionment regarding their life and active service in a U-Boat, which had been described to them in the glowing lies of the recruiting authorities. When questioned as to their opinions on the progress of the war and on the future, they expressed the usual propaganda arguments; it was evident that their morale was sustained entirely by the increasing flow of statements and prophesies pumped into them by the German press and radio; it is also known that the officers were charged with the "periodic instruction of the crew with the object of maintaining a correct political attitude among the men." This insecure basis of prisoners' morale did not stand up to active service emergencies, the officers and most of the men surrendering without much resistance, and subsequently indicating their relief at being out of the war. A very few of the older petty officers were rather bitter regarding this matter, and stated that, had they had better leadership, they would have put up a fight and would have had quite a good chance of escaping from the British warships. Every man in "U 501" had been repeatedly lectured on the subjects of security and interrogation by the British in the event of capture; they had been systematically and thoroughly warned of various dangers in this respect, and many of the younger ratings thought that they would be shot on capture by the British, although the Captain denied that he had ever circulated such rumours. | ||
| The mental outlook of the crew was uniformly and fanatically Nazi. The attitude of the older petty officers was polite and formal, and they were in every way better types than the junior ratings. | ||
| The physical standard was high, although a very few men, not as fit as the majority, had been included in the crew because of their naval experience. | ||
| The Captain, Korvettenkapitän (Commander) Hugo Förster, nearly thirty-seven years of age, joined the Navy in 1923, and had until recently served in surface ships. In 1936, as a Kapitänleutnant (Lieutenant-Commander), he commanded the torpedo boat "Tiger," of the third torpedo-boat flotilla. In 1937 and 1938 he held an appointment in the Home Defence Department. He was transferred to the cruiser "Blücher" and was serving as Korvettenkapitän (Commander) in that ship when she was sunk in Oslo Fjord in April, 1940. It was stated that he had later commanded a transport ship for some time. He was transferred fairly recently to U-Boats and took a shortened U-Boat course. He refused to go into any details of his recent career, but it was established that the first and last cruise of "U 501" was also his first and last cruise as Captain of a U-Boat, although he may have been on a war cruise in another U-Boat under instruction as a prospective Captain. His lack of experience, his cowardice and other defects were bitterly criticised by his officers and men, some of whom went | ||
| (C42919) B*2 | ||
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| so far as to threaten to take vengeance into their own hands should Förster not be adequately punished by Court Martial after the war. According to his crew, Förster not only surrendered without a fight, but subsequently thought solely of his own skin, and not of the fate of his ship, nor of the lives of his men, eleven of whom were drowned. He was the first to desert his U-Boat and the only man to jump from her to the British corvette without even getting wet, let alone having to swim for some time before being rescued. Later, when visiting his men, he offered his hand to his Chief Quartermaster, a man of fourteen years' service in the German Navy, who refused to shake hands with him. | ||
| Förster's own behavior did not coincide with the attitude towards duty and death, which he had frequently and dramatically enjoined on his crew during the earlier, calm period of their cruise. Some of his men felt that he had not personally proved his favourite dictum to the effect that "the Germans know how to die." | ||
| His profession of loyalty to the Nazi regime appeared to be based on a shrewd calculation of the prospects offered by such adherence, and not by ideological or patriotic considerations. | ||
| Although not really of the officer class, Förster's had acquired a certain veneer, but his inferiority complex resulted in over-compensation, which took the form of an unpleasant insistence on the privileges of his rank and imagined importance. | ||
| He spoke some English and a little French; he was married and his wife lived in Berlin. According to his men, he was an intimate friend of the Vice-Admiral U-Boats, Dönitz. | ||
| The First Lieutenant, Oberleutnant zur See (lieutenant) Werner Albring, aged twenty-seven years, was a native of the Rhineland and had joined the Navy in 1934. He was transferred to the German Air Force in 1936, and remained in that service until a recent date when he was transferred back to the Navy and drafted to U-Boats after a short course. In spite of his lack of U-Boat experience Albring boasted that he could have obtained command of a U-Boat of his own had he not wished to gain experience of active service conditions and strategy before accepting the responsibility of command. | ||
| He was an interesting man, moderately educated, speaking quite good English and some French, but rather bombastic and narrow-minded He was an ardent physical culturalist and a bully. He was married. | ||
| The junior officer, Leutnant zur See (Sub-Lieutenant) Hans Sittenfeld, twenty-four years of age, was born on 23rd July, 1917, and had spent most of his life in Kiel. His father, Erich Sittenfeld, was a U-Boat Captain of the Great War, and was drowned off the Irish coast when in command of "U 45," on 12th September, 1917, seven weeks after the birth of his son. Prisoner joined the Navy in 1937 and had not long been in U-Boats; he was on his first active service cruise. He was better educated than the other officers, spoke a little English, showed some literary, musical and artistic tastes, and appeared to be very fond of sailing and other open-air pursuits. His critical and appreciative discernment were a welcome change from the usual conversation of German naval officers. He gave the impression of being genuinely patriotic, accepting of the Nazi régime as the only means of securing and maintaining his country her rightful place among the nations. The activities of Hitler have, in Sittenfeld's opinion, been dictated by circumstances. He thinks that the British overrate both the importance and the competence of Goebbels. Prisoner's wife was said to be doing clerical work in some naval establishment at Kiel. | ||
| The Engineer Officer, Oberleutnant (Ing.) (Engineer Lieutenant) Gerhard Schiemann, aged twenty-seven years, was a native of East Prussia. He entered the Navy in 1934, and joined the U-Boat branch in 1937. In 1938 he became Engineer Officer in a U-Boat of the U-Boat Flotilla "Lohs." It is believed that he served formerly in "U 16" and "U 22." Although an ardent Nazi and a blind worshipper of Hitler, he was quite a pleasant person when discussing general topics. He was fond of sailing and riding. He was married, his wife living in Hamburg. | ||
| The other two officers were young midshipmen, who joined the Navy on 1 December, 1939. Apart from their training they had had no naval experience and had volunteered for U-Boats; their suitability for this branch of the service was being tested. They were both typical products of the Hitler Youth organisation - fanatical, stupid, conceited and poorly educated. | ||
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III. EARLY HISTORY OF "U 501" |
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| It was established that "U 501" was the first of a series of 740-ton U-Boats built at the Deutsche Werft, Finkenwerder, Hamburg. | ||
| Owing to the rigid security measures enforced in all German building yards, the prisoners had no idea as to the approximate date of the laying-down of "U 501." They stated, however, that she was a "Type IX C" U-Boat and that her building number ("Werftnummer") was 287; she was known to the dockyard workers only by that number; the later identity number, "U 501," was allocated only after the U-Boat had left the building yard. | ||
| At the end of November, or early December, 1940, the first members of her future crew were drafted to stand by the U-Boat during the final stages of construction. At that time, according to prisoners, there was one other unfinished U-Boat, namely "U 502," on the same slip, and two or three others under construction in the yard; they added that two U-Boats were usually built on each slip. | ||
| She appears to have been launched at the end of December, 1940, or early in January, 1941. | ||
| "U 501" carried out her acceptance trials on 16th April, 1941, and was formally commissioned on 30th April, 1941. | ||
| Prisoners said that, when they left Hamburg, five or six U-Boats were being built at the Deutsche Werft, of which two, "U 502" and "U 503," had already been launched, while the others were almost ready for launching. Prisoners believed that about fifteen to twenty U-Boats were now under construction at this building yard. | ||
| On 10th May, 1941, "U 501" proceeded through the Kiel Canal to Kiel, where she lay at the Lützow Jetty with one other 740-ton U-Boat. | ||
| (N.I.D. Note. The Lützow Jetty is in the torpedo-boat harbour, south of the Holtenau entrance to the Kiel Canal.) | ||
| After about fourteen days, "U 510" went to Gotenhafen where torpedo trials were carried out, air torpedoes being used; no other U-Boat took part in these practices, although three other U-Boats, of which one was a 740-tonner, were said to have been there at the same time. | ||
| Danzig and Hela were also visited. | ||
| "U 501" then returned to Kiel and later to Hamburg, arriving at the latter port during the second week of June, 1941, or a little earlier. A refit was then carried out involving a number of alterations which included the moving of the bilge water lead, in order to obtain better access to the bilges; four of the ten upper deck containers for torpedoes were removed. | ||
| Prisoners stated that "U 503" was then still in Hamburg, but that "U 502" had already left to do her trials. | ||
| After three weeks "U 501" went back through the Kiel Canal to Kiel, arriving there about the end of June, 1941, "U 501," accompanied by a 500-ton U-Boat, left Kiel and proceeded through the Great Belt to Horten on the Oslo Fjord. She was said to have stayed at Horten for about a week; prisoners stated that they saw two or three other U-Boats there; "U 568," "U 569" and "U 571" were mentioned in this connection, but the statements were not confirmed. From Horton "U 501" went to Trondheim, breaking her journey for three hours at Christiansand; she was to have been in company with a 500-ton U-Boat, believed by prisoners to have been either "U 84" or "U 87," and to have been protected at the beginning and at the end of this journey by escort vessels. | ||
| At Trondheim two more upper deck containers for torpedoes were removed, leaving only four of the original ten. Repairs to a projecting rod which acted as a protection to the hydroplane were carried out; the Kingstons were also overhauled. A 500-ton U-Boat was in dock at the same time. | ||
| During this time the crew lived in "Huaskaran," a 7,000-ton liner of the Hamburg-Amerika Line. | ||
| "U 501" was said to have carried out torpedo firing and diving practices in company with several other U-Boats; the U-Boats went out each day for trials and returned in the evening. The greatest depth to which "U 501" dived during diving practices off Trondheim was given as 120 to 130 metres (394 to 427 feet). | ||
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| Prisoners regarded the stay in Trondheim as a continuation of their training, and added that the 24th U-Boat Flotilla was at Trondheim, as well as a varying number of "active service" U-Boats. One 500-ton U-Boat was described as having a grey-white snake painted as a badge on her conning tower. | ||
| The crew of "U 501" stated that, during this period, they lived in a ship named "Black Prince," which lay in the Lo Fjord about two hours by ferry to the North of Trondheim. Other ships said to have been lying in Lo Fjord for the accommodation of U-Boat personnel were "Herts" and "Neisse." | ||
| (N.I.D. Note. "Black Prince" is a Norwegian 5,000-ton motor vessel belonging to the Olsen Company. "Herts" is believed to be a new U-Boat tender. No information is available about "Neisse.") | ||
IV. FIRST AND LAST CRUISE OF "U 501" |
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| Prisoners stated that "U 501" left Trondheim on her first and last cruise on 7th August, 1941. | ||
| She carried six torpedoes in her tubes, four spares under and two above the floor plates in the forward compartment and two more spares in the after compartment, making a total of fourteen; it was stated that the four remaining upper deck containers for torpedoes were empty. Twelve torpedoes were said to have been electric, while two were air torpedoes. | ||
| Prisoners said that two "Safety Islands" ("Rettungsinseln") were carried, one forward and one aft, on the upper deck; these were described as inflatable rafts. | ||
| "U 501" was said to have proceeded North of the Shetlands and Faroes to the area South of Iceland. Prisoners alleged that, a few days out, about 12th August, 1941, "U 501" was attacked by a destroyer or a corvette; the U-Boat crash-dived and the explosions of 12 to 15 depth charges from the British warship were heard rather far off and caused no damage. This attack was described as having occurred about daybreak, and "U 501" remained submerged until noon. | ||
| (N.I.D. Note. H.M.S. "Picotee" was attacked by a U-Boat at 0300 on 12th August in about 62° 20' N., and 18° 30' W., but since she was sunk no account is available. It is more probable, however, that this attack refers to H.M.S. "Snowdrop," who attacked a U-Boat with two patterns of 10 depth charges at 0710 on 11th August in 60° 51' N. and 16° 34' W.) | ||
| The next incident of note was said to have occurred one afternoon about three weeks after leaving Trondheim, namely, about the end of August, 1941, when "U 501," submerged to periscope depth, fired two bow torpedoes at a steamer, but both missed. | ||
| Prisoners complained about the incessant British air reconnaissances, which forced then to spend much time submerged; on one occasion a young and inexperienced rating did not realise the necessity for rapid submerging and, according to his comrades, nearly endangered the safety of the U-Boat by not getting down off the bridge quickly enough. | ||
| On one occasion "U 501" was said to have been forced to stay submerged for two days, and could therefore not receive any W/T signals during that time. | ||
| A somewhat unreliable prisoner claimed that "U 501" had intercepted a signal from "U 570" consisting of the three letters "IRA," which, it was added, meant, "Boat unable to submerge" ("Boot untauchklar"); this story could not be confirmed. If true, it would have happened at some time on 27th or 28th August, 1941. Prisoner could not explain why the Captain of "U 501" took no action in the matter. | ||
| About noon on 5th September, 1941, "U 501" attacked the Norwegian ship "Einvik," 2,000 tons, from the surface and fired six torpedoes at her, of which only one hit but failed to sink her. The first three torpedoes were fired fanwise in salvo, the fourth torpedo was fired from the remaining bow tube, while the fifth and sixth were fired from the stern tubes, according to a torpedo rating. Prisoners said that "Einvik" was sailing independently. As she did not sink, but continued to send out W/T signals which, the German thought, must have been D/Fd easily and accurately, "U 501" opened fire on her, and kept up the shelling until the Norwegian vessel sank; prisoners estimated that "U 501" fired over forty shells. They believed that "Einvik must have been unarmed, as she never returned their fire. | ||
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| At some time on 5th September, 1941, "U 501" was said to have communicated by lamp with another U-Boat, thought by prisoners to have an identity number in the 80's, possibly "U 84" or "U 87." | ||
| Prisoners stated on the morning of 10th September, 1941, about 24 hours before "U 501" was sunk, a signal was received from the Vice-Admiral U-Boats reporting the position and course of a convoy in the area in which "U 501" was operating, it was added that no information was given regarding the number of ships in convoy, nor of the number or types of escorts. The U-Boat was said to have proceeded to the South-eastward of the convoy and tried to get ahead of it, with the intention of lying in wait. | ||
| Prisoners stated that the U-Boat shadowing the convoy reported the course and made a series of signals; "Change of course to the East." "U 501" coming up from the South knew that she must cross the path of the convoy, but overshot the mark and went too far to the North, according to prisoners, so altered course 180° to the South and ran right into the convoy. | ||
| It was stated that about four hours before "U 501" came up with the convoy, a signal was received from "U 432" announcing that she was also in contact with the convoy. Another signal intercepted, apparently somewhat later, was described as being from "Ollido" or "Polydor" to "Max" ("Ollido an Max," or "Polydor an Max"). | ||
| (N.I.D. Note. It is known that U-Boat Captains use their Christian or nicknames in W/T signals.) | ||
| Prisoners believed that there were several U-Boats attempting to attack the convoy. | ||
| (N.I.D. Note. The convoy was SC.42, which was continuously attacked by U-Boats between p.m. 9th September and a.m. 11th September, 14 ships being torpedoed.) | ||
| At about 0200 on 11th September, 1941, "U 501" was forced to crash-dive to avoid being spotted by aircraft. Approximately half an hour later Asdic transmissions were heard, but it was not possible to determine from which direction these were coming, until the noises of the propellers of the approaching ships were picked up by the hydrophones. | ||
| Some prisoners blamed the man on duty at the hydrophones for not having picked up these noises sooner; this man however, gave the impression of being more alert and intelligent than most of the crew. | ||
V. SINKING OF "U 501" |
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| H.M.S. "Chambly" and Moosejaw," who were on a training cruise, were ordered to join and reinforce the escort of Convoy SC.42. Whilst about 4 miles ahead of the convoy with which contact had not yet been made. "Chambly" gained Asdic contact and dropped four depth charges set to 100 ft. (1), 150 ft. (1), and 250 ft. (2). H.M.S. "Moosejaw" altered course to port and kept clear of the former ship's wake. "U 501" was at a depth of 40 metres (131 ft), and the explosion of the depth charges caused considerable damage inside the U-Boat, a number of instruments being smashed and the after hydroplane being put out of action; both the ordinary and the emergency lighting systems ceased to function. | ||
| Prisoners claim to have heard two more crashes in the control room, followed by a smell of gas given off by the action of water on potassium cartridges. The valves of the U-Boat were said to have been damaged and the depth gauge was put out of action. Prisoners were positive, however, that no water entered except a small quantity through the w.c. forward; some men said that this was due to burst water-pipes leading to the w.c. | ||
| Immediately after the charges had exploded, "Moosejaw" sighted the U-Boat surfacing between herself and "Chambly." As "U 501" was under way, "Moosejaw" opened fire on her as soon as "Chambly" was clear of the range; but the gun jammed after the first round, so "Moosejaw" increased speed to close the U-Boat, with the intention of ramming her, and got close alongside. "U 501" then altered course, and the two ships ran alongside each other. | ||
| The Captain of "U 501" promptly jumped on board "Moosejaw" and other Germans made a move to do likewise, but "Moosejaw," not being prepared to repel boarders, sheered off. | ||
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| The U-Boat then appeared to be attempting to cross the corvette's bows, so the latter increased to full speed and rammed her at an angle of 45° on her starboard bow. | ||
| The U-Boat passed across "Moosejaw's" bows at reduced speed and the latter, having got her gun clear again, opened fire, whereupon the Germans took to the water. Survivors admitted that their 20 mm. (0.79 in.) gun on the bridge was ready for action when the U-Boat surfaced. | ||
| "Moosejaw" asked "Chambly" to assist in the rescue of prisoners, as almost the entire ship's company in "Moosejaw" were already occupied in pulling them out of the water and it was therefore impossible to lower a boat. "Chambly" attempted to go alongside the U-Boat and board, but was unable to do so as the Diesels were still running and the U-Boat going ahead. "Chambly," therefore, sent a boat and boarding party led by the 1st Lieutenant of "Chambly,"which managed to get on board. "U 501" was settling fast and the 1st Lieutenant of "Chambly," who was in the conning tower, was sucked down as the U-Boat sank. One stoker of the boarding party was unfortunately lost. | ||
| It was reported by the boarding party that a large hole was seen, about 4 ft. in diameter, where the U-Boat's casing joined the hull on the port quarter. It appeared that the U-Boat's port after hydroplane had been blown off. | ||
| "Chambly's boat rescued one officer and seven men, while ten of the crew of "U 501" lost their lives. | ||
| Prisoners were quite certain that the latter were drowned trying to swim from the U-Boat to the corvettes, as the entire crew of "U 501" got out of the U-Boat which, they realised, must inevitably sink very quickly indeed. | ||
| The captain of "U 501" explained his precipitate leap from his U-Boat by stating that he felt impelled to get aboard "Moosejaw" at once in order to insist on the British rescuing his men; otherwise, he added, the German crew might have been left to drown. His explanation, while failing to convince the British, succeeded in infuriating his own men into a state of high blood pressure. | ||
| The telegraphists stated positively that no signal announcing the end of "U 501" could be sent, as everything was so unexpected and so quick. | ||
| Prisoners stated that "U 501," when sunk, after having been five weeks at sea, had only 60 cubic metres of fuel oil left and had been about to make for Lorient. The normal expenditure of fuel oil appears to be approximately 4 cubic metres per day. | ||
| Prisoners had never practised refuelling at sea, and did not believe that such refuelling was likely to have been attempted. No tropical clothing was carried, but there were some rumours current among the men that, after arrival at Lorient where they expected a period of rest, they would be sent on a cruise to the U-Boat area in the South Atlantic. | ||
VI. DETAILS OF "U 501" |
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| (i) Remarks on Construction | ||
| "U 501" was a 740-ton "type IX C" U-Boat, but survivors claimed that her actual tonnage was, in point of fact, in excess of that figure; some estimates put it as having been almost 900 tons. | ||
| The thickest ribs of the U-Boat were stated to be amidships where the diameter was largest; prisoners did not know whether each rib was of the same thickness throughout, or whether some parts of the rib were thicker than the rest. The section of a rib was described as being a "double T." | ||
| Prisoners believed that the plates of the pressure hull were flush and welded. Survivors knew of no special protection of the pressure hull below deck, nor between pressure hull and outer skin or tanks. | ||
| The keel was described as having been extended aft by a rail intended to give special support to the rudder; this rail was said to have been rigidly fixed to the keel. | ||
| Prisoners said that there was no special anti-fouling protection for the propellers. | ||
| "U 501" was said to have had eight diving tanks, of which tank No. 3 was always used for additional fuel oil; it was added that no oil was ever carried in tanks 1, 5 and 8. It was stated that the U-Boat had four fuel tanks inside the pressure hull, built into the bilges forward. | ||
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| The space between the hull and the upper deck was believed to have been the same for practically the whole length of the upper deck and to have been between about one and a quarter metres (about 4 feet) deep along the centre line of the U-Boat; in this space two inflatable rafts, a wooden dinghy, ropes and cables were said to have been stored, also a container for ready ammunition. | ||
| The upper deck was described as being covered with longitudinal slats of wood about 3 in. wide, except for areas right forward and right aft, about 14 or 15 feet and 11 or 12 feet long respectively, which were of metal; the space between the deck and the pressure hull was, of course, flooded when the U-Boat was submerged. Prisoners criticised the deck covering as having been too light and too insecurely fixed. | ||
| Various contradictory statements were made regarding the diving angle of "U 501"; the consensus of opinion placed the usual diving angle at 4 or 5 degrees; several prisoners asserted that the angle of a crash dive could be as great as 20 degrees. | ||
| (ii) Engines | ||
| Prisoners stated that "U 501" was equipped with two M.A.N. Diesels, each with 2,000 h.p., or over. At utmost speed the revolutions were given as 400, and at economic speed as between 200 and 300. | ||
| (iii) Armament | ||
| "U 501" had four forward and two stern tubes; she carried six torpedoes in her tubes and eight spares inside the U-Boat; as stated earlier in this report she had originally had ten upper deck containers for torpedoes, but six had been removed, leaving one container on either side of the conning tower and one on either side further aft. | ||
| Prisoners stated that she carried one 105 mm. (4.14 in.) gun forward, one 37 mm. (1.45 in.) gun aft capable of being used as an A.A. gun, and one 20. mm. (0.79 in.) gun on the bridge. | ||
| Survivors complained that the ammunition given them for those guns was all old ammunition manufactured about 1934 and 1935. | ||
| (iv) Protection of Hydroplanes | ||
| Prisoners said that the hydrophones were each protected by a horizontal metal bar projecting beyond the outer extremity of the hydroplane; from the outer end of this bar a cable ran to a point on the hull about 16 feet further aft and acted as a fender against any object which might damage the hydroplane. | ||
| (v) W/T | ||
| Prisoners stated that "U 501" had two receivers, constantly manned, one for short wave. D/F watch was also kept. It was stated that the frequencies of the W/T transmissions were changed several times daily. The strength of W/T transmissions was said to be 200 watts. | ||
| (vi) Detector Gear | ||
| Survivors admitted that, although a special space had been left in the W/T cabin for the detector gear ("S-Gerät"), this apparatus had not been fitted, but "U 501" had hoped to have it installed at a later date. | ||
| (vii) Underwater Telephone | ||
| "U 501" was stated to have been equipped with an underwater telephone, which was worked by the Petty Officer Telegraphist; it was added that, under favourable conditions, this could be used up to a distance of ten miles. Prisoners stated that underwater telephony was used during practices, but otherwise would only be used in a rare, extreme emergency. | ||
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| (viii) Potash Cartridges | ||
| Prisoners said that there were ten to fifteen cartridges, about 25 by 15 cms. (about 10 ins. by 6 ins.), fixed on the inside of the hull or on the bulkheads. | ||
| (ix) Badge | ||
| According to prisoners, new U-Boats carrying out trials and practices have a distinguishing mark painted on the conning tower; this mark is later painted out. In the case of "U 501" this mark was the ace of spades, which was replaced by the U-Boat's permanent badge; the latter was two hippopotami heads. A further emblem, a small black cat, was painted on the conning tower, forward on the starboard side. | ||
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13 |
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APPENDIX |
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List of Crew of U "501" |
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(i) Survivors |
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(ii) The following did not survive:
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| (C42919) B25 11/41 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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