U-boat Archive - U-873 - Preliminary Report

CONFIDENTIAL

Op-16-Z

	REPORT ON INTERROGATION OF THE
	CREW OF U-873 WHICH SURRENDERED
	TO THE USS VANCE ON 11 MAY 1945,
	IN POSITION 35°-45'N - 42°-31'W.

DISTRIBUTION:

COMINCH (F-20) (2)

CONASDEVLANT

COMNAVEU

BAD

G-2 (Col Sweet)

Comdt., Navy Yard, Portsmouth, N.H.

Op-16-FA-4

via: Op-16-1-F

Op-16-1

Op-16

Op-16-PT (2)

Op-20-G

DNI (Ottawa)

26 June 1945

CONFIDENTIAL

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	REPORT ON INTERROGATION OF THE CREW OF
	U-873 WHICH SURRENDERED TO THE USS VANCE
	ON 11 MAY 1945, IN POSITION 35⁰-45' N. 42⁰-32W.

D E T A I L S

Number:	U-873.

Type:	IX D-C (Built as Type IX D-2).

Tonnage:	1200 Tons

Yard Number:	1081.

Building Yard:	Deschimag, Bremen.

Launched:	15 November, 1943.

Commissioned:	1 March, 1944.

Commanding Officer:	Klt. Freiderich STEINHOFF.
	(STEINHOFF entered the German Navy in 1934 after having previously served in the Merchant Marine. His wartime experience consisted of duty on mine sweepers in Norwegian waters and two U-boat patrols. He was then given duty ashore because of ill health and for some time was Adjutant to the Flotilla C.O. of the 2nd U-boat Flotilla in Lorient. He was described by his crew as an excellent seaman but totally unable to exercise his command. The engineer officer and the doctor aboard seemed to have influenced the Commanding Officer to such an extent that they were, for all practical purposes, in command of the boat.)

Armament:	6 Torpedo tubes.
	1 37 mm. single-mount half-automatic gun on forward deck, Type 30.
	2 Double-mount 20 mm guns on Platform I.
	1 Double-mount 37 mm. full-automatic gun on Platform II.

Torpedoes:	20 torpedoes carried.
	Of these, 5 were T-5s, 11 were T-3s and 4 were T-1s. These torpedoes were stowed as follows:

	4 in upper deck containers.
	4 below the floor plates in the forward torpedo room.
	3 on the floor plates in the forward torpedo room.
	3 on the floor plates in the after torpedo room. (Plus the 6 in the tubes).

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S.B.T.	Fitted.

Diesels:	2 9-Cylinder M.A.N.
	(In addition, had 2 6-Cylinder M.W.M. Diesels for charging batteries. These Diesels were removed when U-873 was equipped for passage to Japan.)

Supercharger:	Rootes type.

Schnorchel:	Deschimag Type I fitted.
	Schnorchel head rubber covered.

Cut-away Deck:	Fitted.

Electric Motors:	Siemens.

Switchboard:	Siemens.

Batteries:	440 MAL 740 W.

G.S.R.	2 Amplifiers, Type ZM4 for Tunis Antenna.
	1 Amplifier, Type "Hela" for Runddipol.
	2 Tunis Antennae.
	2 Runddipole - one on the bridge and one atop the Schnorchel mast.

Radar:	Hohentwiel with mattress antenna.

D/F Gear:	Fitted, covering range of 15 - 33 kilocycles and 150 - 1200 kilocycles.

Transmitters:	1 "Rhein" Type (3,000 - 24,000 kilocycles) by Telefunken.
	1 150 Watt long-wave transmitter (600 - 800 meters).
	1 200 Watt short-wave transmitter (20 - 80 meters), both by Telefunken.
	1 "Kurier" transmitter.
	(This instrument was jettisoned before U-873 was boarded by the prize crew.)

Receivers:	1 "Grosschiff" Type (18 - 100 meters).
	1 Short-wave receiver, Type "Köln".
	1 All-wave receiver (20 - 20,000 kilocycles), by Telefunken.

Echo Sounding Gear:	Atlas Type fitted.

Hydrophones:	G.H.G. fitted (Balkongeraet).

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Underwater Sound:	Atlas U.T. fitted (84 - 88 cycles).

R.D.B.	Carried.

Fuel Oil Capacity:	510 Cubic meters.

Rubber Boats:	3 8-man rubber boats.
	59 1-man rubber boats.

E A R L Y H I S T O R Y

The working up trials of U-873 were marked by several incidents which delayed her departure on her first patrol for some time. Otherwise, the events followed in the usual chronological order. U-873 arrived in Kiel for U.A.K. trials on 3 March and was there 14 days. She then proceeded to Swinemünde for flak trials and then spent 8 days in Gotenhafen at the torpedo experimental station. She then went to the Holm Werft in Danzig and there was equipped with a motorless observation Helicopter. She went from Danzig to Hela for pre-tactical exercises and during these trials, was rammed by U-WOLFRAM while both boats were proceeding on the surface. No serious damages were sustained. Fuel oil tank No. 1A port, was holed and she spent 12 days in Holm Werft having this tank repaired. This was followed by Agru-Front trials in Hela, tactical exercises and the Commanding Officers' torpedo exercises in Pillau.

U-873 arrived in Bremen 1 July at the Deschimag Werft for final overhaul. During this overhaul, the following repairs and changes were carried out:

	(1) The auxiliary charging Diesels were removed.
	(2) Lubricating oil tank #1 was redesigned for cargo carrying.
	(3) Cut-away deck was fitted.
	(4) Schnorchel was built in.
	(5) The keel duct was loaded with mercury and unground optical glass. 100 Tons of cargo were estimated to have been loaded in the duct.
	(6) A cargo hatch was built in over the main Diesel room.

On 30 July, while in dock, U-873 was hit in the control room by a small size aerial bomb which caused considerable damage throughout the center section of the boat. The outer covering was also damaged in several places by fragments from near misses. Repairs lasted until the end of November, at which time she was deemed seaworthy and ready to carry out additional trails in preparation for her first patrol. From Bremen she proceeded to Kiel for her first Schnorchel trials. This was followed by additional flak practice in Swinemünde. She arrived in Stettin during the later part of December and changes the Diesel compressor and made repairs to auxiliary bilge pumps Nos. 1 and 3. U-873 arrived in Kiel on 6 January, 1945. Here the auxiliary Diesel compartment was loaded with about 100 tons of cargo, said to consist mainly of unground optical glass. The two tanks were likewise loaded with cargo.

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	By this time, it was generally understood that U-873 was going to Japan but no official announcement was ever made to the crew, in spite of the fact that about 14 passengers arrived to make the Japan voyage. Not many days after U-873 was fully loaded, orders were suddenly received, supposedly from Hitler himself, that al U-boats were to be made ready for war patrols. All cargo was then unloaded except the mercury and lens crystal in the keel duct. The auxiliary Diesels were not replaced. The motorless observation Helicopter was also removed at this time.

	F I R S T P A T R O L

	Torpedoes and provisions were loaded in Kiel and U-873 left there for her first patrol on 17 February, 1945. She proceeded to Horten submerged most of the way because of frequent aircraft alarms. She arrived in Horten on 22 February and carried out Schnorchel trials for 9 days. These trials were extended because of trouble with the Schnorchel float valve. While surfacing after her deep diving test, she surfaced under a VII-C U-boat and was held at a depth of 11 meters until a destroyer was summoned and succeeded in pulling the VII-C boat off U-873. No serious damage was suffered from this encounter. Fuel oil tank #6 was holed, the external covering was damaged in several places, and the 37-mm gun had to be replaced and diving tank #7 starboard was badly holed.

	It was impossible to make the necessary repairs in Horten because of damage done to the building yards during a previous air raid. U-873 first went to Fredrickstad and then to Greeaker where she spent 14 days having some of the damage repaired. She went from there to Horten and here repairs were completed and from Horten she proceeded to Kristiansand. Here she topped up with fuel and provisions and made minor adjustments. On 30 March, she cleared the harbor with a Type IX-C boat and 1 Type XXIII boat. All 3 were forced to return because of weather conditions. She left again during the evening of 31 March and finally succeeded in getting underway on her first patrol.

	U-873 submerged and Schnorcheled to about the Rosengarten where she surfaced for the first time on about 15 April and set course for her operational area in the Caribbean. On about the 5th of May, she started proceeding nights on the surface and submerged during the daytime. This was primarily done in order to receive signals. About the first complete message she received was that Dönitz had taken over full command in Germany. On the following day, they were instructed to obey only coded signals from the Admiral commanding U-boats. On 7 May, a signal was received ordering them to return to Norway and some hours later, news of Germany's capitulation was received on board. These orders were not obeyed and while a lengthy discussion among the officers aboard as to what steps to take was taking place, the U-boat went to 180 meters and proceeded in a southerly direction. During the following day, the discussion still

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continued with no one on board being able to reach a decision. On 9 May, an open signal was received on the "America" series ordering them to report their position and in accordance with this position, proceed to a designated Allied harbor. According to their position at this time, they should have proceeded to Gibraltar but kept proceeding south and west until a position was reached from which they could enter an American port. During all this time, there was a heated argument on board - particularly among the officers, about the desirability of going to South America and there attempting to sell the items stored in the keel duct. The crew, however, was alarmingly insistent that radioed instructions be followed. Finally, on the morning of 11 May, the engineer officer gave the order to set course for the nearest American port. About an hour later, a G.S.R. contact was received and U-873 submerged. Sometime later, and after hydrophone contacts from several different directions were received, U-873 surfaced and reported her position.

Prior to the actual surrender of U-873, most of the ship's papers and several instruments were jettisoned - mostly upon orders of the engineer officer. On 7 May, all T-5s were jettisoned and on the 10th all code settings for previous days were destroyed, along with all instructional manuals. In addition, the Tunis set and the Kurier transmitter were thrown overboard. U-873 then proceeded in accordance with instructions received by signal and was met by the USS VANCE. She arrived in Portsmouth on 17 May.

C R E W

The officers of U-873 at the time of commissioning were:

C. O.	-	Klt. Friedrich Steinhoff, (Class of 1934).
1 W.O.	-	Olt. Detleff Argens.
2 W.O.	-	Lt. Helmut Weidemann.
L. I.	-	Olt. (Ing) Helmut Jürgens, (Class of Oct. 1938).
W. I.	-	Olt. (Ing) Wolfgang Fricke, (Class of Dec. 1939).

At the time of the first patrol, ARGENS had been replaced by Olt. Albert FINSTER. FRICKE had been replaced by Lt.(Ing) Heinz TÜRK. Olt. Hans MÜLLER came aboard as 3 W.O.

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CREW LIST OF U-873

Name	Rank or Rate	U. S. Equivalent

STEINHOFF, Fritz	Kapitänleutnant	Lieutenant
MÜLLER, Peter	Oberleutnant	Lieutenant (jg)
JÜRGENS, Helmut	Oberleutnant	Lieutenant (jg)
FINSTER, Albert	Oberleutnant	Lieutenant (jg)
RIEDEMANN, Helmut	Oberleutnant	Lieutenant (jg)
REINKE, Karl Wilhelm		Doctor
SCHIFFER, Wilhelm	Stabsobermaschinist	Chief Machinist
UNDEHAU, Ernst	Obersteurmann	Quartermaster of Warrant Rank
DÜRING, Harbart	Funkmeister	Radioman 1cl
SEITZ, Georg	Oberfunkmaat	Radioman 2cl
LEMPENAUER, Georg	Obermaschinenmaat	Machinist Mate 2cl
MOHREN, August	Obermaschinenmaat	Machinist Mate 2cl
MEYER, Helmut	Obermaschinenmaat	Machinist Mate 2cl
ORTWEIN, Walter	Obermaschinenmaat	Machinist Mate 2cl
SELTITZ, Wolfram	Oberbootsmannsmaat	Boatswain's Mate 2cl
BINNEFELD, Peter	Oberbootsmannsmaat	Boatswain's Mate 2cl
JACOBZIG, Paul	Bootsmann	Boatswain's Mate 1cl
THOMAS, Karl	Maschinenmaat	Fireman 1cl
OLD, Ernst	Maschinenmaat	Fireman 1cl
HEISTERKAMP, Wilhelm	Mechanikermaat	Torpedoman's Mate 3cl
LANDGRAF, Reiner	Matrosenobergefreiter	Seaman 1cl
ROOS, Hans Jurgen	Matrosenobergefreiter	Seaman 1cl
BEHER, Werner	Matrosenobergefreiter	Seaman 1cl
FALKENBERG, Gerhard	Matrosenobergefreiter	Seaman 1cl
NOTAKER, Paul	Matrosenobergefreiter	Seaman 1cl
SCHILLER, Kurt	Matrosenhauptgefreiter	Seaman 1cl
WILTHELM, Anton	Maschinenobergefreiter	Fireman 2cl
FEYERABEND, Willi	Maschinenobergefreiter	Fireman 2cl
SCHRECKENBACH, Otto	Maschinenobergefreiter	Fireman 2cl
SCHROTER, Ernst	Maschinenobergefreiter	Fireman 2cl
SCHLEICHER, Peter	Maschinenobergefreiter	Fireman 2cl
SCHOWTE, Gerhard	Maschinenobergefreiter	Fireman 2cl
SCHWARZ, Hans	Mechanikerobergefreiter	Seaman 1cl
ANSCHUTZ, Ewald	Mechanikerobergefreiter	Seaman 1cl
REIBLICH, Heinrich	Mechanikerobergefreiter	Seaman 1cl
BALLENDAT, Willy	Obergefreiter	Seaman 1cl
HARTMANN, Walter	Obergefreiter	Seaman 1cl
LABS, Fritz	Obergefreiter	Seaman 1cl
HEIMEL, Gunter	Obergefreiter	Seaman 1cl
ROGOWSKI, Edmund	Obergefreiter	Seaman 1cl
REINKE, Alfred	Obergefreiter	Seaman 1cl
KÜLBEL, Gerhard	Obergefreiter	Seaman 1cl
OHMSTEDE, Wilhelm	Obergefreiter	Seaman 1cl
PÜTZ, Heinz	Obergefreiter	Seaman 1cl
BECK, Hans	Obergefreiter	Seaman 1cl
EBEL, Heinz	Obergefreiter	Seaman 1cl
HASENFUS, Franz	Obergefreiter	Seaman 1cl

Op-16-Z

CREW LIST OF U-873 (Continued)

Name	Rank or Rate	U. S. Equivalent

ROBERT, Karl Heinz	Obergefreiter	Seaman 1cl
MUHLHAUS, Bodo	Funkgefreiter	Seaman 2cl
GEIS, Winfried	Maschinengefreiter	Fireman 3cl
WAGNER, Kurt	Gefreiter	Seaman 2cl

TURK, Heinz	1G-489-NA	Leutnant (Ing)	Ensign
ECKHARDT, Kurt	1G-490-NA	Obermaschinist	Machinist
ZSCHUNKE, Paul	1G-491-NA	Obermaschinist	Machinist
LINDER, Manfred	1G-492-NA	Maschinenmaat	Fireman 1cl
SCHUMACHER, Hugo	1G-493-NA	Maschinenobergefreiter	Fireman 2cl
DAUER, Helmut	1G-494-NA	Maschinenobergefreiter	Fireman 2cl
BRUNS, Hans	1G-495-NA	Maschinengefreiter	Fireman 3cl
PAPLEWSKI, Helmut	1G-610-NA	Matrosenobergefreiter	Seaman 1cl