1822	-	Sub sighted.
1826	-	Strafing attack delivered by FM
1827	-	Second strafing run made by FM; damage noted both runs.
1827.2	-	TBF dropped depth charges, overshot target.
1828	-	Sub submerged.
1832.5	-	TBF attacked again; no explosion observed.

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Subject:

German Prisoners of War Captured 17 March 1944 from U-boat 801, Report on.

2225	-	Depth charges dropped on no definite target by relief TBF when fire broke out in bomb bay during further attack on sound contacts same area.
0254	-	W/T transmission by submarine picked up by BLOCK ISLAND's DAQ giving fix on sub about eight miles south of original attack.
0341	-	TBF launched to scout DAQ bearing, sighted submarine surfaced at full speed, course 290 about eighteen miles westerly from position of DAQ bearing and release of decoy balloons.  Submerged before attack could be delivered.
0410	-	CORRY arriving in area found two radar decoy buoy balloons which she destroyed by gunfire.
0457	-	Radar contact by TBF leads to sighting of periscope on same westerly course about six miles from previous sighting.  Attack delivered but no explosion noted.
0800-1000	-	Fourth TBF scouts oil trace leading on course 340° from last contact.
1041	-	TBF leads CORRY and BRONSTEIN into sound contact with sub at head of moving oil slick.
1041-1319	-	CORRY and BRONSTEIN deliver successive depth charge attacks.
1319	-	Sub brought to surface by attacks; shelled by CORRY and BRONSTEIN.
1324	-	Sub transmission, garbled, picked up by ships of Task Group 21.16 bearing directly on sinking U-boat.
1325	-	U-boat, battered by surface shelling sinks in full view of all ships of task group.  Fifth TBF orbits taking photographs, latitude 16°42' N, longitude 30°28' W.

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Subject:

German Prisoners of War Captured 17 March 1944 from U-boat 801, Report on.

against orders.  When this was discovered the items were retrieved by responsible authority.  It was reported that all were recovered.  Strict segregation of officers, petty officers and enlisted men was maintained.

                  The task group pulled out of the area and a couple of hours later the CORRY came alongside the BLOCK ISLAND to deliver all prisoners, gear and clothing, by breeches buoy.  Individual photographs accompanying this report show the condition of the prisoners as they were first brought aboard the BLOCK ISLAND.  (Four pictures, so indicated, were taken at a later date).

        3.        As the prisoners arrived on board, they were separated according to the three classifications of officers, petty officers and enlisted men, and even within these groups they were not permitted to talk to each other that afternoon or evening before questioning.  As the questioning was not concluded on the first day, however, the remainder were allowed to talk, but only to those of their classification who had not been questioned.  This process was facilitated in that all of the officers and all of the petty officers except those in sick bay were questioned the first day.  Interviews were conducted by Ensign Roland L. Warren, C-V(S), USNR, Prisoner of War Officer and interpreter, and Lieutenant Roy L. Swift, A-V(S), USNR, Ship's Intelligence Officer.

                  After questioning, the officers, that is, the two ensigns and the two warrant officers, were taken to their quarters.  They were billeted in the officers' barber shop, a convenient and pleasant place, and a separate head was put at their exclusive disposal.  Although the weather was hot, the ship being in a southern latitude, their room was cooler than most of the rooms in officers' country.  In view of this, it is significant that Ensign Kempkes, an hour or so after being questioned, requested that he be permitted to speak with someone who understood German.  Thinking that he might have something to add to his testimony, Ensign Warren, who happened to be questioning petty officers at the time, interrupted the process to see Ensign Kempkes.  The latter voiced three requests: first, for soap, second for a shower and third, for cooler quarters.  He was told that the first two items were already being arranged, but that the probabilities were that he and the other officers would remain in that room until they were taken from the ship.  This displeased him, and he acted as though as a German officer he expected better treatment.  "That place!" he exclaimed with disgust.  These details are here summarized because they typified his attitude throughout the time he was on board.  The following day he complained about the P W marked on his clothes, and he also remarked that certainly they would receive more adequate clothes than those he had received in his Red Cross

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Subject:

German Prisoners of War Captured 17 March 1944 from U-boat 801, Report on.

kit, for "when we get off the ship, we just can't go around this way!"  This attitude of his undoubtedly influenced that of his three companions, who, incidentally, would have been more talkative, it is believed, had he not been with them, for he was security-conscious.  It is felt particularly that the two warrant officers, Paustian and Freudig, might be much more communicative under different circumstances.

                  The situation was vastly different with the petty officers and enlisted men.  These groups were very congenial, and were very convincing when they said that they breathed a sigh of relief when they saw the American flag on the destroyer.  One of them mentioned that a friend of his had actually seen U-boat crew members machine gunned in the water by the British, and their obvious fear of the Russians was never hidden.  They had undoubtedly been saturated with horror-stories concerning the Russians.

                  The attitude of seamen and petty officers was, in general, one of gratitude and congeniality, and they were relatively communicative, as is apparent elsewhere in this report.

                  The officers ate their breakfast in their room, and their noon and evening meals in the wardroom, accompanied by one of the ship's chief warrant officers, and occasionally by Ensign Warren.  The seamen and petty officers ate in the crew's mess, after the ship's personnel was finished eating.  Each of the three groups was taken to the well-deck daily, for exercise and fresh air.  They were kept under constant armed guard, but never locked up.  They were segregated strictly from the ship's personnel, and only authorized officers and guards were permitted access to them.  An outstanding exception to this was the situation in sickbay, where, due to circumstances which could hardly be prevented, petty officers and seamen from the U-boat were in the same room, and where they talked with physicians and pharmacist mates.  Pharmacist mate second class Heren, Robert, gained a good amount of valuable information from these sick-bay patients.  Ironically enough, his only access to German was through Yiddish, but he made himself understood and understood them sufficiently to gather many choice bits of information from their grateful confidences.  From the standpoint of personality, he was well fitted for "getting next to them" in a short time, and they spoke to him quite freely concerning matters about which they undoubtedly at one time or other had been instructed to say nothing.

        4.        Those prisoners most apt to tell the truth about their circumstances, wounded men grateful for kindness and care given them in sick bay, agree in stories related casually that their submarine was built in Wesermunde.  Some said it was two years old; other indicated that this

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Subject:

German Prisoners of War Captured 17 March 1944 from U-boat 801, Report on.

was its maiden cruise.  At any rate, the wounded men said readily that its number was U-801: one wrote it out on a slip of paper and signed it, while a wounded petty officer watched and approved.

                  The unwounded men, kept segregated, steadfastly observed their training in security and refused to tell the name or number of their ship.  However, one of these same men busied himself during the days on board the BLOCK ISLAND with drawing banners (see photo accompanying) on some of which he showed a device which he said readily was the insignia painted on the conning tower of the sub.  One of the wounded men, on the other hand, drew a crude representation of what he called the "Wappan", appearing to resemble the same device, which he said all submarine men wore on their caps.

                  Typical of the contradictory reports given on some occasions is the statement of one man that the sub's engines were Mercedez-Benz, "all one engine,: while another said that there were two diesel engines of "Berliner" make.  Whether these contradictions arose from ignorance or an attempt to mislead their captors, is not known.

                  Prisoner testimony is to the effect that she was armed with 8 - 37mm. guns.  The 105mm. cannon forward of the conning tower had been removed, one prisoner observing "they never use it anymore."  There were six torpedo tubes but the U-boat carried only 14 torpedoes, it was said.

                  The plane which discovered the submarine had a beautiful opportunity to photograph its quarry.  Unfortunately the four pictures which it secures were taken from a considerable distance and the negative was over-exposed.  Nevertheless, the pictures, when blown up, reveal a good deal of information.  The submarine as pictured, very closely resembles the so-called 1200-ton vessel shown on pages 19-23 of the December issue of COMINCH's secret ANTI-SUBMARINE WARFARE BULLETIN, and more thoroughly described and diagramed in the January issue of the same publication.  What would appear to be the clinching points of resemblance include the proportion of the length of the conning tower to the length of the deck forward of the conning tower (almost exactly 1 to 3), the pattern of wooden gratings on the forward deck and the radar aerial installation on the forward port side of the conning tower.  None of these characteristics agree with those of such pictures of 740-ton U-boats as are available.

                  Ranged against this evidence is the unanimous claim of the prisoners that their ship was a "750-tonner."  Some recited the

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Subject:

German Prisoners of War Captured 17 March 1944 from U-boat 801, Report on.

various sizes:  500 tons, "750" tons, 1200 tons, 1600 tons, and reiterated theirs was "750," not "740."  This information came from various groups which had no contact with each other since abandoning their ship.

                  A number of the men mentioned having recently completed a voyage from Germany to a port in the Bay of Biscay.  Perhaps the most lucid of these accounts recites that the ship was out of Germany for nine weeks on its way to Lorient, traveling around by way of Sweden, Norway and west of England.  One port often mentioned was Königsberg.  Stettin was mentioned, and one said that his sub had been attached to the Fourth Flotilla, which is at Stettin.  Perhaps that was the port of departure.  If U-801 was at sea nine weeks on its way to Lorient, it probably operated for some while in the sub concentration southwest of England.

                  There was plenty of evidence of the ship's recent duty in a French port.  The only currency recovered, 380 francs, was French.  A letter to one of the men, mailed in Duisberg on February 12, 1944, told of the addressee's recent visit there while on leave, expressed the hope he would "think of me while on your way to France," and that he "may safely return from this next cruise."

                  The men are thoroughly familiar with Lorient.  In talk with the pharmacist's mate, who proved valuable in carrying on casual conversation with them, the wounded referred to Lorient in precisely the same manner as the average American sailor in the Atlantic refers to Norfolk.  From several of the wounded men came the statement that U-801 was attached to the Second Flotilla, an operational unit known to be based at Lorient.

                  One prisoner stated that there were from five to ten submarines in Lorient most of the time, all of the same class.  He didn't think there were any larger ones there, but said that it might be possible.

                  Correspondence was recovered bearing postmarks from Germany as late as February 16, 1944.  In one man's wallet was a ration stamp cancelled February 25.  The best evidence of the sub's departure date, however, appeared to be a copy of a watch list written out in ink.  This has two men on, a week at a time, over periods dated from February 28 through April 6.  It is a common practice for a petty officer, in our navy at least, to prepare a watch list for a considerable period ahead

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Subject:

German Prisoners of War Captured 17 March 1944 from U-boat 801, Report on.

and beginning on the day his ship puts to sea.  Thus, February 28 could be reasonably established as the sub's date of departure from Lorient.  From Lorient to the spot where the sub was sunk is 2300 miles.  At 128 miles per day, it would take from February 28 to March 16 to reach that position.  That speed is a fair average for an out-bound German submarine in these waters.

                  There is some evidence that the crew knew other U-boats were in the vicinity on March 16, as well as that a carrier was on the prowl for them.  One wounded man boasted that a 1600-ton supply vessel was in the area.  Another indicated that these larger U-boats "carry enough oil for six to eight smaller U-boats" and that the U-801 maintained long cruises by meeting these.  Against these statements is the complete surprise professes by unwounded men in the enlisted group when sounded out concerning a refueler in the area.

                  Nevertheless, the reaction of most men when the subject was brought up was such as to lead to the conclusion that a rendezvous, either for refueling or for other operations, was scheduled in the area.  On one occasion a chief radioman of the BLOCK ISLAND was inadvertently allowed by the guards to converse with an Oberfunkmaat among the prisoners through a guard-interpreter.  With misguided zeal the radioman discussed W/T procedure with the German operator, later claiming to have led him into an admission that they had transmitted some time shortly before being attacked, but that they "got together at the wrong time and weren't able to maneuver around together."

                 Another man said unguardedly:  "Just suppose there had been three of us all together.  We might have all been sunk!"

                  Reports concerning the days immediately preceding the attack were contradictory.  A few men professed that the sub had had no warning of Allied forces in the area.  In the sick bay, however, the wounded told some sort of story of having gone three days without a cooked meal, because of having to stay submerged most of the time and fearing to use their electric stove least it give radio signals.

                  Some said they had seen the BLOCK ISLAND's planes; one even claimed to have seen the ship; and there was scuttlebutt aboard the CORRY that when survivors were first brought aboard they claimed to have fired torpedoes at the carrier within the past few days.  All this is very likely bombast, for the task group had made good a much faster southerly progress than the submarine could possibly have maintained.

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Subject:

German Prisoners of War Captured 17 March 1944 from U-boat 801, Report on.

        5.        Whatever may have been the submarine's warning of enemy forces in the area, she was obviously proceeding untroubled over the glassy seas in the late afternoon hours of March 16.  A gun crew had dismantled the barrel of at least one of the 37mm. guns and had it below for service.  The watch was just being changed at 1822; the bridge was crowded with the doubled parties.

                  Without any warning whatever, according to survivors, a fighter plane screamed down out of a tiny patch of cloud, strafing the conning tower viciously.  A bomber plane reared down behind it but failed to attack.  Doubling back sharply, the fighter once more poured the hail of 50 caliber shells into the conning tower.  There may have been explosions in the conning tower from the attack; at any rate there was complete consternation that no guns were manned.  Deck planking burst into flames; the periscope was shattered.  (However, petty officers were unanimous in claiming that the periscope was down during the air attack, up during final surface attack).

                  Later, the interviewing officer said to a man who had been on the bridge:  "We were surprised you didn't pick up our plane earlier."

                  "You came right out of the sun!"

                  "Yes, but we supposed you'd have a detection device."

                  "But it didn't work!  We conjectured that you must have a new device which would counteract ours."

                  Apparently within two minutes the wounded were brought below and the U-boat submerged.  A few moments after submergence, depth charges were heard exploding nearby, though not close enough to cause any damage.

                  The strafing was a different story.  The periscope was out of commission; other operational damage was indefinitely reported by the survivors.  At least four, possibly six men had been wounded.

                  One seaman was so badly injured that it was necessary for the medical corpsman to amputate his leg, an operation which was not successful, for the victim died during the night.  His body was still aboard, being held for burial at sea, when the ship was sunk next noon.

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Subject:

German Prisoners of War Captured 17 March 1944 from U-boat 801, Report on.

                  It must have been a grim eighteen hours that followed for the fifty-odd Germans.  They look back on it with rueful dismay.

                  "Every time we tried to surface," said one man, "there was either a ship or a plane on top of us."  Thus they may have seen the CORRY early in the night.

                  They confirmed that the U-boat surfaced after midnight, made a radio transmission at that time (that picked up by ship's DAQ and also reported by COMINCH in his 170322), and then proceeded on the surface in a westerly course full speed.  It was in this area that the radar decoy balloons were found, but the prisoners have not mentioned these, nor have they been mentioned to the prisoners.

                  The men tell of sighting planes twice more during the night; this ties in with the facts.  They knew by this time, they say, that they were leaving a trail of oil, probably resulting from the strafing but showing up only when the trim was changed in the tanks.  All say no explosions whatever were heard during the night.

                  Then along in the morning came the beginning of the depth charge attacks by the surface vessels.  CORRY was dropping 600 pound charges; the prisoners in retrospect press their hands to their ears and roll their eyes.  "It was horrible down there!"

                  The final attack delivered by CORRY settled the fate of U-801.  The captain decided to surrender, for his ship was going out of control and was taking water badly.

                  There is some difference of opinion concerning whether control was completely lost or not.  The surviving officers, of course, have not discussed the operation.

                  One enlisted man indicated the ship was blown to the surface and that there would have been no need to sink it by gunfire.

                  An interesting viewpoint was presented by another, who said, "We could have lasted longer, but we were sure the ships were American, so we didn't mind surrendering!  Had they been British, we would have fought longer.

                  "And if they had been Russian?" he was asked.

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Subject:

German Prisoners of War Captured 17 March 1944 from U-boat 801, Report on.

                  "Oh,"" turning his eyes heavenward, "we would have fought to the last breath before surrendering!"

                  It was asserted by one petty officer that a skeleton crew was left aboard; why he did not say, but presumably to scuttle the ship.  This might account for the loss of the engineering officer and other key personnel.  But the order to abandon ship had definitely been given when the sub broke surface.

                  Though most men escaped injury a few were wounded by the shelling that started the instant the submarine appeared.  Among these were the captain, who may or may not have intended to abandon.  With considerable emotion, a member of the crew tells how he looked back as he entered the water and saw his captain slumped down on the conning tower.  Terribly wounded in the head, arm, and chest, he sat, face in hands, as his ship went down.

        6.        The attached list, enclosure (A) gives the name and rank of the forty-seven officers and men who were rescued after the sinking.

                  Various of the survivors contributed names and addresses of those who were lost.  Some have said that as many as 12 died; the ten here listed represent all that could be recalled, and may be complete:

	Kapitän-Lt. Brans, Johann		Commanding Officer (ex-flyer)
		Frau Eva Brans
		Volbert - Rheinland
		Kirchstrasse 36
	Kapitän-Lt. Schumann, Franz		Chief Engineer
		Hanover
		Hammersteinstr.12
	Oberfähnrich Mattstedt		(Verwaltung)
		Nettstedt in Thüringen
	Obersteuermann Sponar, Ernst Peter
		Kiel
	Obermaschinist Liller, Emil
		Frau Karlin Miller
		Wosermunde (Lehe)
		Kleiststr. 2

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Subject:

German Prisoners of War Captured 17 March 1944 from U-boat 801, Report on.

	Bootsmaat Artmann, Willi
		Herrrn Wilhelm Artmann
		Dortmann Westerfilde
		Westerfilderstr. 47
	Bootsmaat Pausch, Karl
		Frau Pausch
		Memmerles 3-1/2
		Gau Bayreuth
	Maschinenmaat Ilg, Fritz
		Faxilie Fritz Ilg
		Mettingen-in-Esslingen
		Resanstr. 54
	Maschinenmaat Karpa, Heinz
		Frau Karpa
		Buer - Gelsenkirchen
		Kannenstr. 10
	Matrosenobergefr. Wawrasitz, Harry       (wounded in leg during first strafing, died
		Hern Erich Wawrasitz	during night on U-boat)
		Scbwartne a. d. Saale
		Scharnhorststr.

        7.        Incidental information elicited from survivors includes the following:

                  a.  Heinz Hardtke, Matrosen Obergefreiter, boasts that he shot down an English plane in the Bay of Biscay on August 21, 1943.

                  b.  A petty officer said that he thought the CVE was good for considerably better than 20 knots.  He was not told differently.  It is to be recalled that other survivors from other subs have made similar statements.  This misconception may account in part for the numerous reports of torpedo misses.  This man said also that the destroyer escorts, known to the Germans as "Devil Ships," have a speed of 40 knots.  The U-801, it was said, is good for 18 knots.

                  c.  Carl Heinz Schultz, wounded Maschinenmaat, talked vaguely but with familiarity to Horen, the pharmacist's mate, concerning the "Horst-gerat" or detection devices.  All that could be gleaned from this conversation is noted in Schulz' docket.

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Subject:

German Prisoners of War Captured 17 March 1944 from U-boat 801, Report on.

                  d.  Heinrich Teller, Funker, is considered the most likely prospect for giving good information.  A memorandum on his background is filled in his docket.

                  e.  Evidence that the submarine may have been in operation a considerable period was indicated when the interviewers commented with an air of pride on bagging "such a veteran cruiser."  The man shrugged depressingly and said:  "The pitcher goes to the fountain until it is broken."

                  f.  In connection with possible counter-tactics against acoustic weapons, Adam Drecker, Maschinenobergefreiter, said:  "But of course, we turned off motors just after submerging."

        8.        Prepared for delivery to the Commandant Fifth Naval District, (Office of Naval Intelligence) is a docket for each prisoner, containing such papers or personal effects as were identified with him, his photograph as taken aboard the BLOCK ISLAND and a card giving his verified name, rate or rank, number if any, next of kin and home address.  Filed in the dockets also are such rough notes as were taken during or after interviews.  Other unidentified papers are included in dockets so marked.

                  Clothing worn by the prisoners at the time of their recovery, as well as all their gear, was thoroughly dried after being brought aboard the BLOCK ISLAND.  It has been stowed in large sea-bags and kept under lock.

        9.        In accordance with reference (b) the forty-seven prisoners of war, all gear, clothing, personal effects and papers, with the dockets on the individual prisoners and copy of this letter, will be turned over to the Commandant Fifth Naval District, (Office of Naval Intelligence), upon arrival in port.

                                                                                              F.  M.  HUGHES

Copies to:

    ONI

    DIO, 5ND

- 2 -

LIST OF PRISONERS CAPTURED

NAME	RANK OR RATE	NUMBER
BUSHMANN, Fritz	Lt. zur See	- - - -
FREUDIG, Ernst	Oberfeldwebel	28/36T
PAUSTIAN, Karl Ernst	Stabsoberfeldwebel	609/33T
KEMPKES, Gunther	Lt. zur See	- - - -
GERLACH, Horst	Bootsmaat	UO 4300/41S
HOUSCHKA, Joseph	Maschinenmaat	UN 2633/39T
MULLER, Hans	Oberfunkmaat	UN 5542/39T
MELLMYSZ, Werner		UN 11362/41T
SCHNEIDER, Hans	Maschinenobermaat	UN 266/39KT
FRANK, Heinz	Maschanikermaat	UN 5713/40S
WAGNER, Erich	Maschinenmaat	UO 6950/40T
SCHULZ, Karl Heinz	Maschinenmaat	UN 3130/40T
GRABNER, Hans	Sanitatsobermaat	UO 7923/39S
PRAGER, Karl	Maschinengefr	UN 15468/42T
MEYER, Otto	Maschinenobergerf	UN 17729/41T
KARNETZKE, Erhard	Maschinengefr	UN 15400/42T
VREDEN, Herbert	Maschinenobergefr	UN 13075/41T
HARDTKE, Heinz	Matrosenobergefr	UN 21561/41S
TÖLLER, Heinz Heinrich	Funkobergefr	UN 13262/42
OSSENBRINK, Erich	Maschinenobergefr	UN 23292/41T
TWIEHAUS, Herman	Matrosenobergefr	UO 12423/42S
DÜSENBURG, Hans	Maschinengefr	UN 12454/42T
USADEL, Erich	Matrosenobergefr	UN 848/42S
SCHWARZ, Herbert	Maschinengefr	UN 12358/42T

                                                              ENCLOSURE (A)