In reply refer to Initials |
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| Op-16-F-9 | ||||||||||||||||
| NAVY DEPARTMENT |
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OFFICE OF THE CHIEF OF NAVAL OPERATIONS |
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WASHINGTON |
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May 20, 1942. |
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MEMORANDUM |
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| 1. Information contained in the enclosed report has been derived entirely from documents taken from bodies of the crew except for section VIII and parts of section XI. Section VIII is taken from the verbal report of the commanding officer of the U.S.S. ROPER as given to the Fifth Naval District, while the information in section XI is derived from German official communiqués and publications. | ||||||||||||||||
| 2. The present plan is to furnish this report to: | ||||||||||||||||
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| John L. Riheldaffer. | ||||||||||||||||
| [penned note: Fine work. (arrow pointing to paragraph 2.(a) above) OK but request we be consulted on (1) make-up (2) dissemination of any such bulletin. In fact would prefer to issue it ourselves. (initialed) TW] | ||||||||||||||||
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MEMORANDUM |
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| From: The Director of Naval Intelligence, Op-16. May 23 1942 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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U.S. CONFIDENTIAL - BRITISH SECRET |
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REPORT ON THE SINKING |
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OF THE U-85 |
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CONFIDENTIAL |
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SINKING OF U-85 |
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CONFIDENTIAL |
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CONFIDENTIAL |
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I |
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Introductory Remarks |
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| U-85 was sunk in latitude 35.55 N., longitude 75.19 W. in the early morning of April 14, 1942. Twenty-nine bodies were recovered some hours later. It is from material found on some of the bodies that the information contained in this report was obtained. Most of this material was of little direct value, consisting of personal correspondence, receipts and machinists' notations of parts to be repaired or replaced. There were, however, three items of great interest: the diary of Chief Machinist (Stabsobermaschinist) Eugen Ungethüm, the diary of Erich Degenkolb, rating not known, and the submarine school notebook of Machinist (Obermaschinist) Heinrich Adrian. | ||
| The career of the U-85, as reconstructed from the two diaries, consists of a preliminary training period carried out in Norwegian waters, and four war cruises as follows: | ||
| 1. July 26, 1941 - August 28. Cruise to Norway and training. | ||
| 2. August 28 - late September. First war cruise. From Trondheim. | ||
| 3. October 16 - late November. Second war cruise. From Saint Nazaire. | ||
| 4. January 10, 1942 - February 23. Third war cruise. From Lorient. | ||
| 5. March 21 - April 13. Fourth and last war cruise. From Saint Nazaire. | ||
| Ungethüm's diary covers the first four of these periods, that of Degenkolb the last two only, so that the two sources coincide for only one cruise, the third war cruise. The diaries will be found reproduced in full in appendices (iii) and (iv). | ||
| U-85 belonged to the 7th U-boat Flotilla. | ||
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CONFIDENTIAL |
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U.S. CONFIDENTIAL - BRITISH SECRET |
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II |
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Crew of U-85 |
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| In the absence of other information as to the compliment of U-85 it can be assumed that it consisted of some 45 officers and men, the usual complement of a 500-ton U-boat. Appendix (i) lists the names, and, when known, the ratings of the 29 bodies recovered. A list of officers and men presumed from other evidence to have been on board is presented in Appendix (ii). There is nothing in the material at hand to permit an estimate of the state of morale among the crew. | ||
| British sources indicated that the commanding officer of U-85 was Eberhard Greger of the class of 1935, whose advancement to Oberleutnant took place on October 1. 1939. It is probable that he had been promoted to Kapitänleutnant since that time. The only corroborating evidence that Greger was actually in command is a certificate of possession of the Iron Cross, 2nd class, issued to one of the crew members, dated "On board, October 14, 1941", and signed by Greger. | ||
| What appears to be a promotion certificate of Maschinengefreiter (Fireman 2nd class) Kleibrink, whose exact significance has not yet been evaluated, bears the name of Oberleutnant Lechler. Lechler was of the class of 1937 and had received his commission as Leutnant on May 1, 1940. It is not clear whether Kleibrink had been advanced by Oberleutnant Lechler, in which case it would have to be assumed that Lechler was in command of U-85 or whether the certificate in Kleibrink's possession is evidence of the two promotions, his own and that of Lechler. In the latter case Lechler would have been the First Watch Officer. | ||
| Only one of the 29 bodies recovered could be identified as that of an officer, namely Oberleutnant (Ingenieur) Hans Sänger of the class of April 1937. The 1940 German Naval List shows that he had been commissioned Leutnant on August 1, 1939, being named first of all those receiving commissions on that date. | ||
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U.S. CONFIDENTIAL - BRITISH SECRET |
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III |
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Early History of U-85 |
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| From interrogation of prisoners in Britain U-85 was known to be a 500-ton boat of type VII B, whose dockyard number, while under construction at the Flenderwerke, Lubeck, was "Flender 281". She was commissioned on June 7, 1941. | ||
| On July 26 the U-85 got underway for Norway, possibly from her original port of Lübeck, at 0500 and tied up alongside the Blücher bridge at Horten, Oslofjord, at 1350 the following day. From Sunday, July 27, to Wednesday, August 6, she remained at Horten, part of her crew being given liberty to visit Oslo on July 30 and 31. | ||
| She left Horten on August 6 at 1800 in convoy for Trondheim via Kristiansand, Stavanger, Moldøjne and Aalesund. Arriving in Loford on August 10, she tied up alongside the HERTHA, a depot ship for submarines. | ||
| From Monday, August 11, to Thursday, August 28, U-85 held firing practice in Trondheimfjord. At 1035, August 13, she was rammed in 14 meters (45 feet) of water by the small destroyer T-151. Number one diving tank and the steering gear were damaged. | ||
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U.S. CONFIDENTIAL - BRITISH SECRET |
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IV |
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First War Cruise of U-85 |
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| U-85 left port for her first war cruise on August 28 at 1000, passing north of the North Sea into the North Atlantic. Airplane alarms forced her to submerge on the first and second days. Of two steamers sighted on the third and forth days the first escaped, and an attack on the second was abandoned when it was observed to be a small lookout vessel of only 300 or 400 tons. | ||
| September 2, the sixth day of the cruise, was marked by two events. At 1609 a plane dropped three bombs or depth charges. U-85 resurfaced at 1645 and proceeded. At 2135 U-105 was sighted, with whom she exchanged recognition signals and some account of experiences. Ungethüm notes that twilight began at 2315 and that there were Northern lights. | ||
| By September 4 U-85 had reached an area to southward of the Denmark Straits. There was one airplane alarm on that day and two the following day. | ||
| On September 9 at 0750, U-85 now being southeast of Greenland, detonations were heard, and a glow was seen bearing 3500. A plume of smoke from the convoy was observed at 1056. At 1204 there was an airplane alarm. The time of U-85's first attack on the convoy is not clear. Ungethüm notes five torpedoes were fired without result, ascribing the lack of success to the fact that they were "hot tube runners". Surfacing at 1545, she sighted two steamers. The nearer one was assumed to be a lookout vessel (Bewacher). The far ship was stopped. Suspicious of a submarine trap, U-85 ran away submerged but surfaced an hour later to maintain contact with the convoy. There was one further airplane alarm on that day. | ||
| U-85's position in the early hours of September 10 is given as off the east coast of Greenland. In spite of being pursued and attacked with gunfire and at least one depth charge by a destroyer, she maintained contact with the convoy. Taking a position in advance of it, she obtained a hit on a 7,000 ton steamer at 1642 and one hit on each of two 5,000 ton steamers at 1719 and 1720, according to claims made in Ungethüm's diary. Submerging, she was then subjected to a heavy depth charge counter-attack which resulted in many failures within the U-85. Two hours later she attempted to surface three times, each time being forced to dive immediately because of the presence of aircraft which, the last time, dropped three depth charges. Ungethüm notes that the convoy was protected by "modern American destroyers, numerous lookouts, submarine traps and airplanes". | ||
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U.S. CONFIDENTIAL - BRITISH SECRET |
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| IV. First War Cruise - Cont'd. | ||
| At 0032, September 11, U-85 surfaced to repair the damage. A test dive at 0945 showed the boat to be in a "state of limited readiness to submerge" (Beschränkt tauchklar). She then proceeded homeward on course 1250, apparently to Saint Nazaire, for it was from there that she sailed on her second war cruise. | ||
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CONFIDENTIAL |
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V |
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Second War Cruise of U-85 |
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| Information on U-85's second war cruise is limited due to the fact that Ungethüm made fewer entries for this than for the other cruises. Guided by aircraft she chased two convoys, but the record gives no evidence of any successes. | ||
| U-85 left St. Nazaire on October 16 at 1445. After four days, whose only recorded incident was the sighting of a plane, she pursued a convoy, whose presence and position were made known to her by cooperating aircraft. After a two day hunt the chase had to be given up because of bad weather. Seas were so heavy that the watch could see nothing, and torpedoes would not run in any event. Furthermore the boat was depth charged by a four motor long range American type bomber. | ||
| On October 24, U-85, with other boats, began the search for a convoy sighted in the neighborhood of Newfoundland. One of the U-boats got three steamers from the convoy, after which it dispersed, part of it escaping in the fog, part fleeing into Canadian waters. | ||
| U-85 was hunting for another convoy on November 3, but the weather was so bad there seemed to be little chance for success. In the evening a valve broke in starboard number one cylinder, requiring 22 hours of uninterrupted work to repair. As this is Ungethüm's last entry for the trip, it may be assumed that U-85 soon set out for home without registering a single success of any kind. | ||
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CONFIDENTIAL |
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VI |
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Third War Cruise of U-85 |
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| The diaries of both Ungethüm and Degenkolb are available as sources for the U-85's third war cruise. On leaving Lorient on January 10, 1942, course was set for the Mediterranean. After a week's cruise marked by three airplane alarms, one alarm for a destroyer, some engine trouble and the beginning of a convoy chase, a new operation order was received on January 17 directing U-85 to proceed to America. | ||
| On January 21 a destroyer was sighted and then a steamer. U-85 submerged, fired a spread of four torpedoes at 1842 and heard two detonations at 1852. Surfacing at 1917, she observed the steamer with a list on bearing 1000. After submerging to approach U-85 searched for debris from 1942 to 0035 without success. Degenkolb's notation that a 10,000 ton steamer was sunk with a spread of four at 7:35 in the evening tallies with the foregoing from Ungethüm's diary. | ||
| According to indications in both diaries a steamer sighted on the following day outran the U-85. Both relate also that on January 24th she prepared to attack a steamer that lay stopped but broke off the attack for fear of a submarine trap. | ||
| Off Newfoundland U-85 underwent attack by aircraft. Degenkolb notes that as their baptism of fire and dates it on the 27th. Ungethüm gives the date as January 28, indicating a near hit but no damage. February 1 a vessel was sighted which escaped in a rain squall. U-85 submerged twice on February 5 after sighting planes. February 6 she set course for "New York". The diary notes course "75" but this is evidently an error or not properly legible. | ||
| On February 8 operations began against a convoy, course 1800, course being altered the following day to 3470. Course was changed again to 1040 at 1110 when a vessel was sighted. An unsuccessful attack was made. The vessel fled, pursued on the surface by U-85, general course 2350. After a seven hour chase U-85 submerged, attacking with a spread of three at 2020. She surfaced immediately, but the vessel had already sunk. This incident was not recorded by Degenkolb. Pursuit of the convoy was continued until interrupted by an airplane alarm. That evening course 85 was set for home because of fuel shortage. | ||
| U-85 was in the Bay of Biscay on February 20, cruising submerged for Saint Nazaire, which she entered on February 23, having sunk two steamers on this cruise, according to the diaries. | ||
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CONFIDENTIAL |
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CONFIDENTIAL |
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VII |
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Fourth and Last War Cruise of U-85 |
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| As Ungethüm made no further entries after U-85's arrival in Saint Nazaire on February 23, Dengenkolb's diary constitutes the only record of the last cruise. Most of his entries are without significance, relating to the weather or radio receptions. It might be noted that he is stirred by the thought of his proximity to Washington, remarking on one occasion that they are 300 miles from land and 660 from Washington, and on another "off Washington". | ||
| U-85 sailed from St. Nazaire at 1800 on March 21, proceeding submerged the next two days, on the first of which depth charges were heard in the distance. The fourth day of the cruise it was judged safe to proceed on the surface. Degenkolb notes fine weather and sea as smooth as a table. March 27 heavy seas caused torpedoes to shift. March 30 Degenkolb notes heavy seas again and damage to the electric motors. | ||
| U-85 was "just off America" on April 4 according to the diary. On April 7, however, she was still "300 miles from land - 660 from Washington". An alarm was sounded April 9 for what turned out to be a buoy. The next day, April 10, U-85 scored her only success of the cruise, sinking a steamer at 0100 with two hits from a spread of two torpedoes. On April 11 at 1240 U-85 was "off Washington" in 50 meters (164 feet) of water. She cruised submerged for a time. Degenkolb notes 8 1/2 meters (28 feet) of water under the keel at 1830. Three steamers were heard during the day, but the record gives no indication of any attack. U-85 spent April 12 lying on the bottom. Degenkolb notes for the night of April 12: "All quiet off New York", and for April 13: "American beacons and searchlights visible at night". | ||
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CONFIDENTIAL |
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VIII |
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Sinking of U-85 |
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| On the night of April 13-14 at 006 (EWT) in latitude 35-55 N., longitude 75-15 W. the U.S.S. ROPER while on course 182 T. at speed 18 knots made a radar contact bearing 190 T., range 2700 yards. Decision was made to investigate and the ship was brought to 193 T. The range decreased very slowly, but the bearing began drawing to the left. At the time range became 2100 yards a wake and a small silhouette were noted. The vessel appeared to be running away. The high speed of the vessel was the chief cause for belief that it might be a submarine. The speed of the ROPER was increased to 20 knots, and it was possible to gain slowly at this speed. A position very slightly on the starboard quarter was maintained as the vessel successively changed to about 175 T., 155 T., and 115 T. With the range reduced to about 700 the track of a torpedo was noted passing close aboard down the port side. | ||
| When the range had decreased to 300 yards the vessel cut sharply to starboard. At this instant, by use of the searchlight, the vessel was identified as a submarine. The submarine continued to turn to starboard, inside the turning radius of the ship. The 24" searchlight was played upon the submarine and fire was opened first with machine gun battery and then with 3" battery. The machine guns, particularly #1, cut down the Germans rushing to man their gun. A direct hit in the conning tower at about the water line was made by #5 3" gun as the submarine commenced to sink. | ||
| The submarine apparently was scuttled as she settled slowly stern first. About forty of her crew were on deck and sighted in the water. | ||
| A depth charge attack based on an excellent sound contact in the apparent position of the submarine was made. An eleven charge pattern was dropped, on course 105 T., the bearing varying little and the speed of the submarine negligible. No debris could be detected because of the darkness. The situation of the ROPER was considered too dangerous to permit any rescue work before daylight. | ||
| At 0717, April 14, 1942, the attention of the ROPER was called to bodies in the water by planes, and twenty-nine bodies were recovered. Among other things six escape lunges were found. Two bodies had moth-piece tubing in their mouths, indicating escape after the submarine sank. While picking up the bodies, a number of empty life jackets were noted. Two additional bodies were permitted to sink after their clothing was searched by an officer in the boat. | ||
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U.S. CONFIDENTIAL - BRITISH SECRET |
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IX |
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Summary of Attacks on U-85 |
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| During the first three war cruises it is recorded that four airplane attacks were made on U-85. Three depth charges were felt in the case of the first two attacks in September, two sets of three at the third attack in October, 1941, and at the fourth in January, 1942, a direct hit was scored by one bomb. | ||
| A total of eighteen entries of airplanes sighted including the four mentioned, was made in the diaries, but some of there obviously refer to the same plane sighted more than once. U-85 remained submerged at least a half hour each time a plane was sighted, often very much longer. | ||
| Two attacks by a destroyer were made on U-85 during the first war cruise off the east coast of Greenland on the same day. The earlier attack was made by gunfire followed by a depth charge after U-85 submerged, and the second attack consisted of numerous depth charges as a counter attack after U-85 attacked a convoy. | ||
| No attacks nor planes sighted are mentioned during the fourth and last war cruise of U-85. | ||
X |
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Technical Details of U-85 |
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| No information. (But see Section XV). | ||
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U.S. CONFIDENTIAL - BRITISH SECRET |
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XI |
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Other U-boats |
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| (i) U-6. | ||
| Ungethüm's notebook indicated that he was undergoing instruction on U-6 from January 1 to January 28, 1940. On February 4 he was ordered to the U-bootsausbildungsabteilung (U-boat training division) at Plön. This order was apparently changed on February 7 to direct him to go to the Baubelehrung (Construction school) at Lübeck. | ||
| (ii) U-94. | ||
| The German radio announced on April 8, 1942, that Oberleutnant Otto Ites had been awarded the Knight Insignia of the Iron Cross. He was stated to have sunk eleven armed enemy merchant ships, including the tanker SAN FLORENTINO, and to have made ten successful operational cruises. | ||
| (iii) U-105. | ||
| Ungethüm's' diary states that five days out of Trondheim U-85 sighted U-105 on September 2, 1941 at 2135 and that the two boats exchanged recognition signals and an account of their experiences. | ||
| (iv) U-106. | ||
| A German communiqué of February 7, 1942, stated that the U-boat of Kapitänleutnant Rasch had particularly distinguished itself in the sinking of six enemy merchant vessels with a total displacement of 38,000 tons off the North American coast. | ||
| (v) U 123. | ||
| Kapitänleutnant Hardegen has been mentioned twice in connection with successes off the North American coast and in the Atlantic. A German communiqué of January 24, 1942, stated that Hardegen had sunk eight merchant ships totaling 53,000 tons, among which were three tankers off New York. In a communiqué of April 14 Hardegen and Lassen were said to have distinguished themselves in successes in the Atlantic. At the same time it was claimed that twelve enemy merchant vessels totaling 104,000 tons had been sunk in the Atlantic and that nearly all these ships which included seven large tankers, were torpedoed off the coast of America. Hardegen is known to command the U-123. It is not known what boat is under the command of Lassen. | ||
| (vi) U 124. | ||
| A German communiqué of March 24, 1942, stated that a U-boat under the command of Kapitänleutnant Mohr had played a predominant part in successes off the American coast. It was also claimed that thirteen merchant ships totaling 80,300 tons, including seven | ||
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U.S. CONFIDENTIAL - BRITISH SECRET |
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| XI. Other U-boats - Cont'd. | ||
| tankers, had been sunk off the American coast, and that an additional ship of 11,000 tons had been so heavily torpedoed that it may be considered lost. | ||
| (vii) U-126. | ||
| A German communiqué of March 15, 1942, stated that Kapitänleutnant Bauer had distinguished himself in the course of operations in waters of the West Indies. It was claimed at the same time that twelve merchant vessels totaling 70,000 tons, including three tankers, had been sunk in the Caribbean, an additional vessel being damaged by a torpedo hit. | ||
| (viii) U-129. | ||
| It was stated in a German communiqué of March 12, 1942, that submarines under Kapitänleutnant Achillies and Kapitänleutnant Niko Clausen had distinguished themselves particularly off the American coast. Clausen is known to have been in command of the U-129 in 1941. The same communiqué claimed the sinking in North and Central American waters of 17 merchant ships totaling 109,000 tons, one large coast guard vessel and a submarine chaser. | ||
| The Offenburger Tageblatt of March 16, 1942, found on the body of a crew member of U-85, announced the award of the Knight Insignia of the Iron Cross to Niko Clausen. It was stated that he had sunk 20 armed enemy merchant vessels totaling 84,000 g.r.t., seven of which, totaling 30,000 g.r.t., had been sunk off the American coast. He was said also to have taken aboard and brought safely to land the crew of a German ship which had been sunk by a British cruiser. | ||
| (ix) U-203. | ||
| A German communiqué of April 20, 1942, stated that a submarine under the command of Korvettenkapitän Mützelburg had distinguished itself particularly in successes off the United States coast. Mützelburg is believed to command the U-203. | ||
| (x) U-504. | ||
| In a German communiqué of March 21,1942, Korvettenkapitän Poske was stated to have distinguished himself in operations in American waters. | ||
| (xi) U-552. | ||
| A German communiqué of April 11, 1942, stated that Kapitänleutnant Topp had again distinguished himself in U-boat operations off the American coast, having sunk a total of 31 ships of 208,000 tons, including one destroyer and one coast guard ship. | ||
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U.S. CONFIDENTIAL - BRITISH SECRET |
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| XI. Other U-boats - Cont'd. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| (xii) U-558. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| A German communiqué of February 26, 1942, stated that Kapitänleutnant Krech had distinguished himself in attacks on a convoy. It was claimed that as a result of this fight, which lasted for days, seven ships aggregating 52,000 tons, including one tanker, were so seriously damaged that they may be considered lost. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| U-BOATS LOST. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| (i) U-352. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| U-boat under command of Kapitänleutnant Hellmut Rathke sunk on May 9, 1942, is believed to be the U-352. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| (ii) U-567. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| A German communiqué of April 1, 1942, announced that the U-boat of Oberleutnant Endrass had failed to return and must be presumed to be lost. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| U-BOAT COMMANDERS. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Below are listed U-boat commanders mentioned in recent German communiqués as operating successfully in the Atlantic: | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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U.S. CONFIDENTIAL - BRITISH SECRET |
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XII |
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Other Ships |
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XIII |
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General Remarks on U-boats |
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XIV |
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Bases |
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IV |
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Adrian's U-boat School Notebook |
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| Another report covering Adrian's U-boat School Notebook will follow. | ||
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U.S. CONFIDENTIAL - BRITISH SECRET |
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Appendix (i) |
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List of Bodies Recovered from U-85 |
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Appendix (i) |
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| Following is a list of the members of the U-boat crew, the rank of each, and the number of the plot in which each is buried in the Hampton National Ceremony, Hampton, Va.: | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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LIST OF PERSONAL EFFECTS OF CREW |
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U.S. CONFIDENTIAL - BRITISH SECRET |
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Appendix (ii) |
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List of Officers and Men Presumed to be Members of the Crew of U-85. |
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Note on how above names were secured: |
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Appendix (ii) |
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U.S. CONFIDENTIAL - BRITISH SECRET |
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Appendix (iii) |
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Diary of Stabsobermaschinist (Chief Machinist) Eugen Ungethüm. |
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Saturday, 26 July 1941. 0300 Awakened. 0400-0500 Ship secured for sea. 0500-2400 Underway for Norway. |
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Sunday, 27 July 1941. 000-1350 Underway for Norway. 1350 Tied up alongside the Blücher bridge in Horten, Oslofjord. |
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Monday, 28.7 - Wednesday, 6.8. Horten. Meanwhile on Wednesday and Thursday, July 30th and 31st in Oslo. |
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Wednesday, 6.8. 1800 Cruise in convoy to Trondheim (Kristiansand, Stavanger, Moldøjne, Aalesund, Lofjord). |
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Sunday, 10.8. 2335 Tied up alongside the HERTHA in Lofjord. |
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Monday, 11.8. - Thursday, 28.8. Firing practice in Trondheim fjord. Meanwhile on Wednesday, 13.8., at 1025 rammed by T-151 in 14 meters (45 feet) of water. Number 1 diving tank and steering gear damaged. |
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Thursday, 28.8. 1000 Left port for war cruise. 2104 Alarm (air plane). 2134 Surfaced. |
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Friday, 29.8. 1729-1805 Alarm (airplane). |
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Saturday, 30.8. To north of North Sea. 1215 freighter sighted, turned away. |
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Sunday, 31.8. North Atlantic. 1140 Steamer sighted. Escaped. Altered course 3400 to head off. 1230 Submerged for attack. Gave up attack, as it was only a small escort vessel (Bewacher) (about 300 or 400 tons). Made away with course west and then 225, submerged (very slow speed). 1435 Surfaced. |
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Tuesday, 2.9. North Atlantic. 1609 Alarm (airplane). Three depth charges. 1645 Surfaced. 2135 Sighted U-105: Exchanged recognition signals and experiences. 2315 Twilight begins. Northern lights. |
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Thursday, 4.9. North Atlantic, south of Denmark Straits. 2040 Alarm (airplane. |
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| Appendix (iii) - 1 - | ||
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U.S. CONFIDENTIAL - BRITISH SECRET |
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Diary of Ungethüm - Cont'd. |
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Friday, 5.9. South of Denmark Straits. 2051 Alarm (airplane). 2130 Alarm (airplane). |
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Tuesday, 9.9. southeast of Greenland. At 0750 Detonation with glow bearing 350. 1056 Plume of smoke (convoy). 1204 Alarm (airplane). Prepared for attack. Wasted five torpedoes (hot tube runners). 1545 Surfaced. 1550 Alarm. Two steamers, one of which is an escort vessel quite near. The steamer was stopped, suspicious, U-boat trap. Ran away submerged. 1650 Surfaced. Following convoy. 2132 Alarm (airplane). 2215 Surfaced in contact with the convoy. (Drifting icebergs.) |
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Wednesday, 10.9. east coast of Greenland. In contact with convoy. Seen by a destroyer. Altered course. Followed by destroyer which opened fire. 0300 Alarm. 0322 One depth charge. 0435 Surfaced and resumed pursuit. 0715 Convoy again in sight. Tried to head it off with north and east courses. 1447 Detonation in the convoy. 1500 Submerged to let convoy approach. 1642 Fired spread of two at 7,000 ton steamer. Hit(s). 1719, 1720. One torpedo at each of the two 5,000 ton ships. Two hits. Submerged. Heavy depth charge counter-attack. Many failures. Depth of 95 meters (308 feet). 1948 surfaced. 1952 Alarm (airplane). 2024 Surfaced, 2025 Alarm (airplane). 2116 Surfaced. 2118 Alarm (airplane). Three depth charges. |
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Thursday, 11.9. North Atlantic. 0032 Surfaced. Ran away at slow speed on course 180. Repaired depth charge damage. 0945 - 1031 Test dive. Boat in state of limited readiness to submerge (beschränkt tauchklar). 2134 The trip back was begun on course 125 at half speed. (The convoy was protected by modern American destroyers, numerous lookouts, submarine traps and airplanes.). |
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Thursday, 16 October 1941. 1445 left Saint Nazaire for second war cruise. |
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Friday, 1710. North Atlantic. 1025 Alarm (airplane). Not seen. 1055 Surfaced. |
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Saturday, 18.10. Cruising to attack area. |
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Sunday, 19.10 Cruising to attack area. |
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Monday, 20.10 Cruising to attack area. |
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Appendix (iii) - 2 - |
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U.S. CONFIDENTIAL - BRITISH SECRET |
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Diary of Ungethüm - Cont'd. |
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Tuesday, 21.10. Chasing an advised convoy. Increasingly bad weather. |
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Wednesday, 22.10. Chasing the convoy. Heavy seas. Bad visibility. Convoy must be quite close but is not to be seen. Rain squalls, low driving clouds, seas breaking aboard. Water continually being shipped through the conning tower into the control room. Bilge pumps must be kept running. 1327 Direction finding signal from German reconnaissance on position of convoy. According to the signal the enemy is forty miles away. We must run up against the sea. At 3/5 speed and in these seas the boat threatens to go under. The bridge watch can see nothing due to seas breaking aboard. Reduced speed, great loss of time. Under these circumstances further chase is useless as no torpedo will run in this weather. 1620 Alarm (airplane). Four motor American long range bomber. At 20 meters (65 feet) the first three depth charges. After two or three minutes three more. No damage. 1757 Surfaced. Pursuit of convoy abandoned. Cruise to area of operations continued. |
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Thursday, 23.10. Cruising to area of operations. Most economical cruising speed. |
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Friday, 24.10. Cruising to area of operations. On the following days with the whole group hunting a convoy sighted in the neighborhood of Newfoundland. One boat gets three steamers. Convoy has dispersed, one part escaping in fog, the other fleeing into Canadian waters. |
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Monday, 3.11. Hunting another convoy. Fog, visibility poor, heavy seas, little prospect of success. 2130 Valve breaks in starboard cylinder number one. After twenty-two hours of uninterrupted work starboard engine is in order again (cylinder cover, all valves, force pumps and bearing bolts). |
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Saturday, 10.1.42. (On course for Mediterranean). Left Lorient for third war cruise. 1315-1432 Cruising in convoy. 1715-1925 Cruising submerged at slow speed. Surfaced 3/5 speed. |
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Sunday, 11.1. 0758 Alarm (airplane). 0916-2000 Cruising submerged. 1430-1438 Surfaced to air boat. 1700 Heard distant detonation of depth charges or bombs. |
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Monday, 12.1. 1145 Alarm (airplane). Cruising submerged until 1450. Cleaned foot valves in motor oil lines. |
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Appendix (iii) - 3 - |
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U.S. CONFIDENTIAL - BRITISH SECRET |
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Diary of Ungethüm - Cont'd. |
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Tuesday, 13.1. From 2200 on cruising submerged. Cylinder number 5 in starboard engine has a leak in journal bearing bush. |
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Thursday, 15.1. From 2200 on cruising submerged. Port engine cylinder number 4 has a leak in journal bearing bush. |
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Saturday, 17.1. 0000-0130 Operating against convoy. By radio signal operated on course towards Gibraltar with one motor slow speed. Ran along on course 180. 1330 Alarm (airplane). 1900 New operation order. Not Mediterranean, but America. Course 270. |
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Wednesday, 21.1. 1812 Sighted destroyer and immediately afterwards a steamer. 1816 submerged. 1842 Fired spread of four. 1852 Two detonations of torpedoes. 1917 Surfaced. Steamer bearing 100 with a list. 1921 Submerged to approach. 1942 Surfaced. Searched for debris until 0035 without success. |
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Thursday, 22.1. 1132 Steamer sighted, fast motorship. Pursued on surface. 1400 Pursuit abandoned. Old course. Old speed. |
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Saturday, 24.1. 2224 Sighted stopped steamer. Submarine trap. Prepared for attack. 0016 Broke off attack and ran away. |
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Wednesday, 28.1. Off Newfoundland. 2048 Alarm (airplane). One bomb near hit. No damage. 2200 Surfaced. Made off at 3/5 speed. |
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Friday, 30.1. 1300-2045 Cruising submerged while making repairs to starboard inner exhaust valve. Valve flapper and ring bolts torn away, flapper reversed in housing. |
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Sunday, 1.2. 2058 Sighted vessel. Escaped in rain squall. Thursday, 5.2. 1658 Alarm (airplane). 1744 Surfaced. 2003 Alarm (airplane). 2050 Surfaced. |
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Thursday. 5.2. 1658 Alarm (airplane). 1744 Surfaced. 2003 Alarm (airplane). 2050 Surfaced. |
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Friday, 6.2. Course for New York, 75 degrees. |
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Sunday, 8.2. Operated against convoy, course 180. |
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Appendix (iii) - 4 - |
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U.S. CONFIDENTIAL - BRITISH SECRET |
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Diary of Ungethüm - Cont'd. |
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Monday, 9.2. Course 347. 4/5 speed after convoy. 0708-0722 submerged. Listening speed. No - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 1110 Course 104, half speed. Sighted steamer. 1128 Submerged for attack. 1230 Surfaced after unsuccessful attack. Steamer zigzagged away. Pursued on surface. General course 235, 4/5 speed. 1924 Battle stations. 1932 Submerged. 2020 Spread of three. One hit. 2022 Surfaced. Steamer had disappeared within one minute. Made away on course 60, half speed. 2100 Course 158 after convoy. - - - - - - - - - - - 3/5 speed. 2108 Alarm (airplane). 2130 Distant propeller noises. 2208 Surfaced. 2303 Course 85, slow speed. Must return because of fuel shortage. |
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Friday, 20.2. Bay of Biscay. Cruising submerged on course for Saint Nazaire. |
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Monday, 23.2. Run into Saint Nazaire. |
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Appendix (iii) - 5 - |
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U.S. CONFIDENTIAL - BRITISH SECRET |
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Appendix (iv) |
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Diary of Erich Degenkolb |
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On a calendar for the year 1942, the dates between January 10 and February 22, and between March 21 and April 13, are crossed off. These dates correspond to two war cruises of the U-85. |
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Inscription: Fortune, in the long run, favors only the efficient. |
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Appendix (iv) - 1 - |
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Diary of Degenkolb - Cont'd. |
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Appendix (iv) - 2 - |
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U.S. CONFIDENTIAL - BRITISH SECRET |
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Diary of Degenkolb - Cont'd. |
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Addresses: |
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Appendix (iv) - 3 - |
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U.S. CONFIDENTIAL - BRITISH SECRET |
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Diary of Degenkolb - Cont'd. |
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TRAIN SCHEDULES |
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