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In reply refer to Initials |
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NAVY DEPARTMENT |
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OFFICE OF THE CHIEF OF NAVAL OPERATIONS |
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WASHINGTON |
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O.N.I. 250 – G/Serial 11 |
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REPORT ON THE |
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INTERROGATION OF SURVIVORS FROM U-203 |
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SUNK ON APRIL 25, 1943 |
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Lt. Kuhn |
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| June 12, 1943. | ||
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TABLE OF CONTENTS |
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Chapter I. INTRODUCTORY REMARKS |
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U-203 was discovered on the surface by a plane from HMS Biter on April 25, 1943, at about 1700Z in position 55.05 N - 42.25 W. The plane dropped one bomb, and HMS Pathfinder immediately continued the attack and heavily depth charged the U-boat. The boat dived and remained submerged for over an hour but the entry of water through the Diesel exhaust forced her to surface. The Engineer Officer of U-203 opened the valves and flooded the boat after her crew had abandoned ship. He and nine ratings were lost. Pathfinder rescued three officers, three midshipman, and 33 ratings. |
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| The prisoners were brought to the United States for questioning. Although their morale was high and they had a great deal of indoctrination in security, they eventually responded to interrogation. This report is based largely on their statements. | ||
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Chapter II. CREW OF U-203 |
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At the time she was sunk, U-203 was carrying 49 men. Her regular complement consisted of four officers and 42 enlisted men, but on her last patrol she had three midshipmen on board for training purposes. |
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| U-203 was originally commanded by the famous Kapitänleutnant* Rolf Mützelburg, who met his death on the eighth cruise of the boat. On her last three patrols, she was commanded by Kapitänleutnant Hermann Kottmann. | ||
| Kottmann was born in Hannover in 1915. His father was an Army officer. Before joining the navy in 1936, Kottmann served for a time with the S.S. (Elite Guard). After he had received his training at the Naval Academy at Mürwik, he was assigned to the Admiral Graf Spee. He was interned with other members of her crew in Argentina when the Graf Spee was scuttled off Montevideo in 1939. In April 1940, he escaped and made his way to Chile where he succeeded in boarding a ship which carried him across the Pacific. He eventually reached Germany via the Trans-Siberian Railroad. | ||
| Upon arrival in Germany, Kottmann was immediately transferred to the U-boat arm. In December 1941, Kottmann was assigned to U-203 to serve under Mützelburg who, at that time, was her captain. Kottmann made three cruises as Executive Officer (1.W.O.) under Mützelburg, the fifth, sixth, and seventh patrols of the boat. Late in July 1942, Kottmann was sent to Memel to take the training course for U-boat commanders. He thus missed the eighth cruise of U-203 on which Mützelburg was accidentally killed. Kottmann was to have received command of a new 750-ton U-boat, but Mützelburg's death | ||
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| * For U.S.N. equivalent of German ranks, see Annex A. | ||
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resulted in a change of orders. In late September or early October 1942, Kottmann was reassigned to U-203, this time as her captain. He was on his third cruise in this capacity when U-203 was sunk and he was taken prisoner. The day before the sinking, on April 24, 1943, he was promoted from Oberleutnant to Kapitänleutnant. |
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Kottmann was one of the most unpleasant U-boat captains so far encountered. He was arrogant, overbearing, and demanding. It was impossible to conduct a civil conversation with him and he took advantage of every opportunity to be insulting to his questioners. He is a fanatic Nazi and is best described as a military robot. Any cultural or humanitarian impulse which may exist in his make-up has been completely sublimated by the political and military indoctrination to which he has been subjected. When it was suggested to him that Germany would lose the war, he replied that if such should ever come to pass, Germany would immediately set about plotting for the day of revenge. |
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| Kottmann's fanaticism and repulsive personality affected the other officers who tried their best to imitate him. They were all extremely security conscious and refused to talk on even the most inconsequential matters. The Executive Officer (1.W.O.), Leutnant Joachim Schmidt, entered the German Navy in 1938. In 1939, he attended the Naval Academy at Mürwik where he was a squad leader (Zugführer). In 1940, he became a midshipman. His subsequent history is unknown until he joined U-203 in March 1943. | ||
| The second Watch Officer (2.W.O.) was Leutnant Julius Arp of the December 1939 naval term. In May 1941, he was assigned to U-569 commanded by Oberleutnant Hans Peter Hinsch of the 1934 naval term. U-569 had been commissioned on May 8, 1941, and on May 27, Arp was transferred to U-82 which was commanded by Oberleutnant Siegfried Hollmann of the 1934 naval | ||
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term. Arp joined U-203 in May 1942. He was to have taken the training course for U-boat commanders in the near future. |
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The Engineer Officer, Oberleutnant (Ing.) Albutat of the October 1937 naval term, was killed at the sinking of U-203. He joined the boat just before her last cruise, having previously served on U-86 under Oberleutnant Schug. |
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| The three midshipman, Fähnrich (Ing.( Owe Brand, and Fähnrich zur See Joachim Neander and Karl Oxfort, modeled their behavior on that of their captain. Of the three, Brand was the only civil one. He had a pleasant personality and had very thoughtfully kept a diary of the last cruise, which greatly aided the interrogators. | ||
| The enlisted men had been thoroughly drilled in security and had also absorbed something of the warped point of view of their officers. Most of them had made several cruises under Mützelburg and some of the older petty officers had served on surface ships before being drafted to the U-boat arm. They were unanimous in their admiration for Mützelburg and most of them regarded Kottmann as an efficient captain. Due to the long and successful history of the boat, the morale of the crew was unusually high. | ||
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Chapter III. EARLY HISTORY OF U-203 |
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| U-203 was a 500-ton U-boat, type VII C, built at the Germania Werft, Kiel. She belonged to the series of boats, U-201 to U-212 assigned to this yard. | ||
| The boat was launched on January 10, 1941, and shortly thereafter, the crew began to stand by during the final phases of construction. They were quartered in barracks near the yard. Kapitänleutnant Rolf Mützelburg was the captain of U-203 at this time and, according to the prisoners, her Executive Officer was Leutnant Moos. (O.N.I. Note: Moos does not appear in the German Naval List.) The Engineer Officer was Leutnant (Ing.) Heinz Heep. | ||
| U-203 was commissioned February 18, 1941, and immediately began the usual series of trials under supervision of the U-boats Acceptance Command (U.A.K.). These trials lasted about three weeks during which time, the crew lived on the depot ship Hamburg. The U-boat then sailed for the Baltic for her working up exercises. She was attached to a torpedo-firing flotilla (Schiessflotilla) at Gotenhafen. The trials for the Active Service Training Group (Agrufront) were held off Danzig under the supervision of Kapitänleutnant (Ing.) Gerhard Suhren). Silent running tests were carried out by running submerged at low speed in the vicinity of a destroyer which acted as a listening post. | ||
| About May 1, 1941, U-203 returned to Kiel for final overhaul. This lasted several weeks and it was not until early June that the U-boat was ready to sail on her first war cruise. | ||
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Chapter IV. FIRST WAR CRUISE OF U-203 |
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U-203 sailed from Kiel on her first war cruise on about June 2, 1941. She followed the usual course through the Great Belt and the Kattegat and put in at Bergen for two or three days, loading fresh water and fuel. She then turned west and made for her operational area southeast of Greenland. Prisoners confirmed the previous reports that four ships totaling 24,000 tons were sunk from an east bound convoy. They stated that the convoy was unescorted. Some of the prisoners said that the USS Texas was sighted on this cruise. |
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| The cruise lasted about four weeks and, late in June 1941, U-203 put in at St. Nazaire. She was attached to the 1st Flotilla, which had its headquarters at Brest. She remained in port only eight weeks or nine days for refueling and loading provisions and ammunition. | ||
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Chapter V. SECOND WAR CRUISE OF U-203 |
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U-203 left St. Nazaire on July 6 or 7, 1941, for her second patrol. Several photographers from the Propaganda Company were on board during this and subsequent cruises. The made innumerable pictures and gave enlargements to the crew. |
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| Prisoners confirmed the details of this cruise as given by Mützelburg in his broadcast interview of August 4, 1941. The U-boat attacked a convoy in the Bay of Biscay and succeeded in sinking five merchant ships, totaling 31,000 tons, and a British destroyer. The attack was made submerged by day and U-203 was in turn severely depth charged but no damage was sustained. One prisoner estimated that seventy depth charges were dropped. | ||
| On returning to St. Nazaire through the Bay of Biscay, U-203 sighted a two-motored plane which was mistaken for German. The plane was flying a parallel opposite course and suddenly turned and attacked the U-boat from astern. Four bombs were dropped, but all were wide of the mark. | ||
| U-203 reached St. Nazaire early in August 1941, with all her torpedoes gone and most of her oil expended. She remained there for over six weeks. During this period, her Warrant Quartermaster (Obersteuermann), Haupt, received his commission as ensign and became the second watch officer of the boat. The prisoners stated that he was then about 30 years of age. | ||
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Chapter VI. THIRD WAR CRUISE OF U-203 |
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The third patrol of U-203 was her shortest. She left St. Nazaire in mid-September 1941, for the North Atlantic. She was out only a few days when a convoy was sighted and attacked. A tanker and a freighter totaling about 20,000 tons were sunk, and two more ships were hit. U-203 had fired ten of her eleven torpedoes. She was ineffectually attacked by an escort vessel which dropped about 20 depth charges. |
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| The cruise ended early in October 1941, when U-203 put in at Brest for the first time. Her early return was laid to the depletion of her supply of torpedoes. | ||
| She remained in port for about a month before sailing on her next patrol. | ||
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Chapter VII. FOURTH WAR CRUISE OF U-203 |
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The fourth war cruise of U-203 began in early November 1941, when she sailed from Brest for her operational area in the North Atlantic. The prisoners vigorously denied that 50,000 tons were sunk on this patrol as had been claimed in a German radio broadcast of November 23, 1941. They stated that four torpedoes were fired and three or four hits were scored on a convoy but the results could not be observed on account of fog. The cruise lasted about 20 days and U-203 returned to Brest late in November 1941. |
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| U-203 remained in Brest until after Christmas 1941. Before sailing on her next cruise, Kottmann joined the boat as her Executive Officer. | ||
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Chapter VIII. FIFTH WAR CRUISE OF U-203 |
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U-203 left Brest on December 28, 1941, on her fifth war cruise. There was no agreement among the prisoners as to the location of her operational area - some saying that the boat was north of the Azores while others believed her to have been off the coast of Newfoundland. All of them stated that two freighters, totaling 13,000 tons, and an escort vessel were sunk, and that ten torpedoes were fired. |
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| On this cruise a large turtle was seen swimming near the U-boat. One of the men stunned it with a hand grenade and then dived in after the creature. He succeeded in hauling it aboard but only after being severely bitten. The turtle was taken below and put in a tank in the motor compartment. It kept spitting blood, however, so it was brought on deck and shot in the neck. The flesh was removed and that night, the crew enjoyed turtle soup. The shell was brought back to Germany as a souvenir and later, the red turtle was adopted as the device of the boat. | ||
| U-203 returned to Brest about January 20, 1942, and remained there for about a month. Toward the end of January, about fifteen members of the crew were invited to Essen, the patron city of the U-boat. There they took part in a celebration in honor of their captain, Mützelburg, who had recently been awarded the Knights Insignia of the Iron Cross. The men were met and greeted by the mayor and leading citizens of the town and were entertained at an official dinner. There was dancing and a floor show, and much beer was consumed. The men remained in Essen for three days of sight-seeing. One of the prisoners spoke of having been taken into an abandoned coal mine, some 800 meters deep, which had been converted into a museum. | ||
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Chapter IX. SIXTH WAR CRUISE OF U-203 |
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Late in February 1942, U-203 sailed from Brest on her sixth patrol and headed for her operational area off Cape Hatteras. The prisoners stated that this cruise was the boat's most successful one. All eleven of her torpedoes were fired and five vessels totaling 41,000 tons were sunk. These were described as three tankers of 13,000 tons, 10,000 tons, and 8,000 tons and two freighters of 5,000 tons each. One of the tankers was loaded with gasoline which exploded instantly upon being hit. A second tanker was described as being in ballast. She was hit with two torpedoes but failed to sink. The U-boat surfaced and sank her with artillery fire. Just as the tanker disappeared beneath the surface, U-203 was attacked by two aircraft. The U-boat replied with anti-aircraft fire and then attempted to dive. The conning tower hatch could not be closed, however, because of being jammed by an empty shell from the 2 cm. gun. Mützelburg re-surfaced, removed the shell, closed the hatch, and escaped submerged without sustaining damage. |
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| The prisoners stated that once on this patrol the boat was so close to New York that the crew was able to see the sky line through the periscope. The boat was attacked several times by destroyers but all attacks were described as being poorly conducted. After having been out five weeks, U-203 was met by a supply U-boat and oil was taken over. | ||
| U-203 returned to Brest the end of April 1942, and remained in port about a month. At this time, Leutnant Arp joined the boat as Second Watch Officer. | ||
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Chapter X. SEVENTH WAR CRUISE OF U-203 |
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| On her seventh war cruise, U-203 again fired all of her torpedoes and sank five ships. She left Brest late in May or early in June, 1942 and headed for Trinidad. While on her way to her operational area, U-203 sighted and stopped a Portuguese freighter. In accordance with orders the freighter sent over the First Officer to the U-boat. The papers described the cargo as coal. Not being entirely satisfied, Mützelburg ordered Kottmann and two men to search the ship. They boarded her and ordered the hatches open only to discover that the cargo actually was coal. They forced the crew of the merchantman to shovel coal for almost an hour but could discover no contraband hidden beneath it. When Kottmann returned to the U-boat there was much joking about the hard labor forced on the crew of the freighter. (O.N.I. Note: This may have been the freighter, Cunena which was stopped by a U-boat in position 360 45' N., 640 33' W. on June 7, 1942.) | ||
| The prisoners stated that on this as on other patrols, Mützelburg tried to limit his attacks to vessels sailing out of convoy and that he often let small ships alone, reserving his torpedoes for larger game. They also stated that they were always delighted to find empty life boats in the Trinidad area as these often contained chocolate which was a great rarity on board the U-boat. | ||
| The following ships were identified by the prisoners as having been sunk on this cruise: | ||
| Scottsburg, 8001 tons, sunk in 110 48' N., 630 06' W. on June 14, 1942. | ||
| Putney Hill, 5216 tons, sunk in 240 20' N., 630 16' W. on June 26, 1942. | ||
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Sam Houston, 7116 tons, sunk in 190 21' N., 620 22' W. on June 28, 1942. |
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Cape Verde, 6914 tons, sunk in 110 32' N., 620 17' W. on July 9, 1942. |
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Stanvac Palembang, 10013 tons, sunk in 110 28' N, 600 23' W. on July 11, 1942. |
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| One of the prisoners gave a graphic description of the sinking of the Sam Houston which was on her maiden voyage, in ballast. Mützelburg allowed Kottmann to take command of the boat. The Executive Officer maneuvered the U-boat in a position much closer to the target than was Mützelburg's practice. The Captain became nervous and ordered Kottmann to fire. Kottmann, however, waited until he was still closer and finally gave the order to fire. Several torpedoes hit but the tanker failed to sink. The U-boat then surfaced and opened fire with her 88 mm. deck gun after the crew of the tanker had abandoned ship. Mützelburg ordered his entire crew on deck to watch the sinking of the vessel. The shooting was wild, and Kottmann, having once been gunnery officer on the Graf Spee, manned the gun himself and sank the tanker. The Master and Engineer Officer of the Sam Houston were brought aboard the U-boat. The Engineer Officer was described as having been enormously fat and one of the prisoners said that he got wedged in the conning tower hatch when attempting to go below. | ||
| On another occasion, an American sailor was rescued and brought aboard the U-boat. He was given cigarettes and later put in a life boat. He expressed surprise at being so well treated. | ||
| On her seventh cruise, U-203 received the largest number of depth charges in her entire history. The attack lasted about two hours, and the prisoners estimate that about 80 depth charges were dropped. The lights went out and some of the valves started to leak, but there was no serious | ||
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entry of water. The U-boat used her S.B.T. to good advantage and finally eluded the destroyers. |
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According to one prisoner, U-203 was met by a supply U-boat on this cruise, but this statement was not confirmed. |
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| Shortly before the end of the patrol, on July 15, 1942, Mützelburg was notified that he had been awarded the Oak Leaves to the Knights Cross. U-203 returned to Brest late in July and stayed in port for about a month. Kottmann was detached and sent to the U-boat commanders school. His place as Executive Officer was taken by Leutnant Hans Seidel. Mützelburg and Kapitänleutnant Adalbert Schnee, Captain of U-201, were flown to Hitler's headquarters behind the Russian Front where they were given the Oak Leaves by Hitler himself. The prisoners stated that Mützelburg was never a confirmed Nazi and that this honor did nothing to change his political attitude. | ||
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Chapter XI. EIGHTH WAR CRUISE OF U-203 |
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On August 28, 1942, U-203 sailed from Brest on what was to be Mützelburg's last patrol. Upon making the first dive in the Bay of Biscay, it was discovered that one of the valves in the bottom of the pressure hull had been fastened with only two screws instead of the usual six. This was quickly rectified while under way. According to one prisoner, sabotage was suspected. |
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| The U-boat had been out about two weeks when the fatal accident occurred to her captain. In the neighborhood of the Azores, the boat hove to on the surface and officers and men went swimming and played games. During the course of a game of "Follow the Leader", Mützelburg dived overboard from the bridge and struck his head against the pressure hull. A few hours later he died, without regaining consciousness. The next day, U-203 was met by a supply U-boat whose doctor examined the body. He stated that if Mützelburg could have had proper medical attention immediately after the accident, he would have lived. Prisoners stated that the doctor was a jovial Bavarian who had the bad taste to joke and make merry at the time. Mützelburg's body was sewn in a canvas sack and a formal burial at sea was held. The supply boat stood by to fire a salute in Mützelburg's honor. | ||
| Leutnant Seidel, the Executive Officer, took command of U-203 and brought her back to Brest, arriving there September 18, 1942. According to one prisoner, he rammed the dock while attempting to berth the boat, slightly damaging her. The crew was shocked to learn that there was a rumor in Brest that the crew of U-203 had mutinied and had thrown Mützelburg overboard. This may have been started inadvertently by the crew members themselves, who jokingly | ||
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said, "On this cruise we only sank the captain". |
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While in Brest, the crew of U-203 was given leave. The Executive Officer Seidel, and the Engineer Officer Heep were transferred. Kottmann was assigned to the boat as Captain, Leutnant Röttger of the April 1937 naval term became her Executive Officer, and Leutnant (Ing.) Dörrlodt, her Engineer Officer. The boat lay in Brest for about two weeks when orders were received to sail. The crew was summoned by telegram and U-203 made ready for her next patrol. |
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Chapter XII. NINTH WAR CRUISE OF U-203 |
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The ninth war cruise of U-203 was Kottmann's first as commanding officer. The U-boat left Brest early in October, 1942, and sailed directly to her operational area between the Azores and the Canary Islands. Three ships in convoy were attacked on this cruise. Two were freighters totaling 13,000 tons. (O.N.I. Note: One of these was probably the Nagpore, sunk on October 27, 1942, about 150 miles west of the Canary Islands.) The this was described as a "Q-ship" of seven or eight thousand tons. The U-boat fired at a range of 2,000 meters with a depth setting of four meters and the prisoners believed that a hit was scored. A torpedoman stated that five torpedoes in all were fired. U-203 herself was attacked by escort vessels but no damage to the U-boat resulted. |
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| Prisoners stated that on this cruise they frequently went swimming. Once they were forced to throw hand grenades in the water to drive off sharks. After this they maintained a look-out and repeated the process whenever necessary. | ||
| On November 7, 1942, the cruise ended but, since repair facilities at Brest were overcrowded, U-203 put in at Lorient. She proceeded to the mouth of the River Scorff and tied up alongside the right bank in front of the former French naval building where the crew was quartered. Later she was moved to Keroman, where she followed the usual procedure -- entering the dry-dock and then being moved by conveyor to the open transfer table and thence into the work bunker. | ||
| Although U-203 was still attached to the 1st Flotilla, the commanding officer of the 10th Flotilla at Lorient, Kapitänleutnant Günther Kuhnke, honored | ||
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the crew by presenting six of its members with the Iron Cross First Class. |
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U-203 remained in Lorient until early December, 1942, when she was moved to her former berth at the mouth of the Scorff where she loaded oil, torpedoes, and provisions in preparation for her next cruise. |
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Chapter XIII. TENTH WAR CRUISE OF U-203 |
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On December 6, 1942, U-203 sailed from Lorient and headed for her patrol area west of Iceland. Throughout the entire cruise the sea was so heavy that the bridge watch had to be lashed to the conning tower. Added to this, the U-boat experienced trouble with her Diesels and, toward the end of the cruise, was able to use only one engine. |
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| On this patrol, the U-boat was one of a group which participated in an attack on a convoy. Kottmann fire four of five torpedoes but, due to the heavy sea, they all breached and no hits were scored. | ||
| With her oil supply depleted and her Diesels in poor condition, U-203 returned to her home port of Brest on January 7, 1943. Within sight of the outer harbor, the U-boat ran aground on a rock. Panic ensued in the forward torpedo room and the men rushed for their life belts. Some prisoners attributed this accident to a failure to sound often enough, while other thought that it was due to the echo sounding gear being out of order. The U-boat was able to back off the rock but her keel and port rudder were somewhat damaged. Due to the damage to her rudder, she was forced to steer an erratic course but was able to make port under her own power. | ||
| The U-boat was put in drydock for thorough overhaul. The damage to the keel and rudder was repaired, and her Diesels were completely rebuilt. The crew was given long leave and the captain took advantage of the delay by going to Hirschegg with his wife for winter sports. The Engineer Officer, Dörrlodt, was transferred from the boat at this time, and Oberleutnant (Ing.) Albutat was assigned to take his place. The Executive Officer, Röttger, also left U-203 | ||
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and Leutnant Joachim Schmidt took over his duties. |
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U-203 remained in drydock for almost three months and it was not until early April, 1943 that she was ready to sail again. On April 2, the day before her departure, Brest was attacked by Allied aircraft but the U-boat suffered no damage. |
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Chapter XIV. ELEVENTH AND LAST WAR CRUISE OF U-203 |
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On April 3, 1943, at 1600Z, U-203 sailed from Brest accompanied by a mine sweeper and a mine destructor vessel. As she was leaving, an aircraft attack was in progress and she proceeded at full speed, following a zigzag course. The passage through the Bay of Biscay was made submerged by day and on the surface at night. On April 8 at about 1800Z the Queen Elizabeth was sighted in position 470 03' N., 230 29' W. Prisoners stated that due to the speed of the passenger ship, the heavy sea and poor visibility, the U-boat made no attempt to attack her. |
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| At about this time, U-203 intercepted the signal from Korvettenkapitän Otto von Bülow, captain ofU-404, regarding his attack on the USS Ranger. Prisoners stated that von Bülow did not say that he sank the Ranger (as was asserted in the official German radio broadcast) but merely claimed to have scored several hits on her. | ||
| On April 11, 1943, U-203 was in approximate position 540 N., 530 W. when she received a signal to join an attack on an east-bound convoy. (O.N.I. Note: This was probably HX 232.) The following day the convoy was sighted at 0500 but air coverage forced the U-boat to submerge and she was unable to keep contact. | ||
| On April 13, U-203 was in approximate position 520 N., 400 W. and on April 16, in 540 N., 470 W. On the 16th of April, she joined a patrol line (Verpostenstreife) off Newfoundland. | ||
| On April 21, U-203 was ordered to join a wolf-pack known as "Gruppe Specht", in an attack on a Greenland convoy. According to the prisoners, | ||
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other U-boats in this group were commanded by Bëhl, Längerich, Geissler, Claus von Trotha, and Uphoff (O.N.I. Note: It is believed that Uphoff commands U-84). Prisoners stated that most of these boats belonged to the 1st Flotilla. |
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At 0600Z on April 22, 1943, U-203 was depth charged by a destroyer. On the following day at 0200Z a corvette was sighted in approximate position 550 N., 460 W. Kottmann decided to attempt to torpedo the corvette rather than attack her with his deck gun. Two torpedoes were fired but the depth settings were too deep and they passed beneath their target. The corvette obtained a sound contact on U-203 and dropped several depth charges which failed to take effect. |
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| On April 24, U-203 was in position 530 45' N., 440 33' W. It was on this day that Kottmann received notification that he had been promoted to Kapitänleutnant. | ||
| On Easter Sunday, April 25, 1943, U-203 sighted HMS Biter which, with several destroyers, was acting as escort for two west-bound convoys, ONS 4 and ON 179. With the thought of von Bülow's claim of sinking the Ranger fresh in his mind, Kottmann maneuvered his boat in position to attack the carrier. The caps of the torpedo tubes were open and Kottmann was so concerned with concentrating on his target that he failed to see a plane from the Biter, which sighted the U-boat. | ||
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Chapter XV. SINKING OF U-203 |
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At about 1700Z on April 25, 1943 a plane from HMS Biter sighted U-203 on the surface and dropped one bomb. HMS Pathfinder, one of the destroyers which was escorting the carrier, immediately took up the attack. The U-boat had been caught completely by surprise and was forced to dive so quickly that the Diesel exhaust valve was not properly closed. Water began to enter the Diesel compartment, and Kottmann was afraid to take the boat below 60 maters. Pathfinder continued to attack vigorously, and prisoners estimated that over 40 depth charges were dropped. The S.B.T. was out of order and could not be used. Instruments were broken by the attack, but the lights remained on. Water continued to flow through the exhaust valve and finally reached the motor compartment, making the boat very heavy by the stern. All available members of the crew were ordered forward in a vain effort to regain trim. In spite of the fact that the destroyer was so close that the noise of her propellers could be heard by all in the U-boat, Kottmann decided to surface. |
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| When U-203 reached the surface at about 1830Z, Pathfinder was so near that the prisoners feared she would ram them. Kottmann was the first to reach the deck through the conning tower hatch. The rest of the crew followed him and only the Engineer Officer, Albutat, remained below to open the vents to flood the boat. There were nine other casualties due either to the very cold temperature of the water or to the fact that the men leapt into the water before properly inflating their life belts. Pathfinder rescued three officers, three midshipmen, and thirty-three ratings. | ||
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Chapter XVI. DETAILS OF U-203 |
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TONNAGE. |
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| 500 tons. | ||
| TYPE. | ||
| VII C. | ||
| BUILDING YARD. | ||
| Germania Werft, Kiel. | ||
FLOTILLA. |
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Although based on St. Nazaire during her first three cruises (May 1941 to October 1941), U-203 was always attached to the 1st Flotilla which had its headquarters at Brest. |
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DIESELS. |
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G.W. (Germania Werft). The Diesels, being old, could only develop a maximum of about 400 r.p.m. which produced an emergency speed (3 x A.K.) of about 16 knots. At full speed (A.K.), 13 to 14 knots were made. |
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ELECTRIC MOTORS. |
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Siemens Halske. |
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ARMAMENT. |
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Four bow tubes. The stern tube, normal to the VII C type U-boat had not been built into the boat. |
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One 88 m. deck gun was carried forward. The 20 mm. anti-aircraft gun on the bridge was said to be of new design with twice as much fire power |
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as the older type. Although some prisoners described it as a "Revolverkanon" they denied that it was fed by belt or drum. Several trustworthy prisoners said that the ammunition was fed from a magazine holding 20 rounds. The tracer ammunition was described as being of a type that illuminates some distance after having left the muzzle in order to conceal the source of fire. The muzzle flash was said to be particularly well concealed. The shells were kept in boxes and were fitted into the magazines while under way, usually in the proportion of two H.E. to one tracer. |
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TORPEDOES. |
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| Only 11 torpedoes were carried, four in the tubes, six in the forward compartment, and one in an upper deck container. On all but the last cruise, ten of these were electric and one an air torpedo. On the last cruise (April 3 to April 25, 1943), four new type "convoy" torpedoes, described as zig-zag torpedoes, were carried. | ||