U-615 - 4th War Patrol

Translation by Jerry Mason with the help of Ken Dunn and Andi Forster

Departed	Date		Sunk	Days at Sea
La Pallice	12 June 1943		7 August 1943	57

 

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Ships Attacked
Date	KTB Time	Position	Ship	Tons	Nationality	Convoy
28 Jul 43	22.33	55°04'N, 18°31'W	ROSALIA	3,177	Dutch
			Total = 3,177
Note:  The positions in the table above and in the Google Earth patrol summary are derived from the KTB and in many cases do not match those set forth in authoritative references such as Jürgen Rohwer, Axis Submarine Successes of World War Two or the Uboat.net website.  The goal here is to present the picture relative to the U-boat and not the absolute position that the ship was attacked or sank.

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			K  r  i  e  g  s  t  a  g  e  b  u  c  h  "U  615"
			Kommandant:  Kaptl.  K  a  p  i  t  z  k  i
			(Reconstructed by 2.Skl./B.d.U.Op.)
		1943
		20.04. - 12.06.43	La Pallice	Overhaul and corrective maintenance work.
		12.06.43	La Pallice	Departed with orders to head for BE 97.
		14.06.43
		21.14		War emergency report from U-615:
				Aircraft has attacked throwing a train of bombs.
		15.06.43
		20.50		From U-600:
				13 June only detection, 14 June in 7258 circled by 3 Sunderlands.  Group dive, badly placed depth charges.  7272 Rahe bombed, slight damage, 1 dead.  On 2nd approach on me shot down land-based 4-engined aircraft.  7421 flying boat. Bombed twice no damage.  U-615 1 dead.  15 June only surfaced to charge.  Position 9647.
		16.06.43
		12.58		From B.d.U.:
				After disbanding common transit head for . . . . U-615 DF 50.
		21.06.43
		10.27		From B.d.U.:
				U-615 fill to completion from U-488 in CE 4967.
		25.06.43
		22.19		From B.d.U.:
				After supply head for EE 40.
		28.06.43
		17.18		Report that U-615 was filled on 26 June.
		30.06.43
		23.50		From B.d.U.:
				From 1 July 08.00 hours switch to America II Circuit.
		02.07.43
		12.35		From B.d.U.:
				Report position and fuel.
		03.07.43	DF 5342	From U-615:
				125 cbm.  On 13 June Bootsmaat Wilke fell.
		06.07.43
		11.45		From B.d.U.:
				Attack area between EC 61, 97, ED 79, 43.  Focal point EC 96.
		26.07.43
		23.45		From B.d.U.:
				Report situation.
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		28.07.43
		21.56		From B.d.U.:
				Report situation.
		23.52		From U-615:
				1)  Up to 11 July fast independent vessels course west some escorted via the sea edge of ED 76.  12 July 15 knot tanker on easterly course hunted unsuccessfully.  There after no traffic.
				2)  From EC 96 to the southeast individual small coastal vessels.  Off main harbor light sea patrol, heavy traffic from the west to northwest.  Detached convoys and tanker groups of up to 6 ships, in loose formation.  Arriving around 20.00 hours departure not observed.  Exploratory U-boat hunts, light air patrol, submerged by day, location detected once at night without attack.  Listening under the coast bad, at sea better than visibility.
				3)  28 July EC 9626 tanker 6000 GRT sunk.  Still 71 cbm.
			There were no further reports.  Situation reports ordered on 11, 14, 18 August went unanswered.
			From reports from an imprisoned U-boat Officer U-615 was sunk by aircraft on 7 August 1943.  43 men taken prisoner.  5 Soldiers, including the Kommandant were lost.
			On 30 August 1943 "U-615" was declared missing one star with effect from 11 August 1943, on 18 May 1944 missing two stars with effect from 7 August 1943.
			For the Befehlshaber der Unterseeboote
			- The Chief of the Operations Department -

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