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Report on the Layover of U-511 in Penang. |
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16.7. to 24.7. 1943. |
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1. Approach and Harbor. |
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Navigationally, Penang can be reached without difficulty from the north tip of Sumatra, because one had enough good land bearings. At present, all traffic to the harbor goes through the north entrance. The "North Channel" light raft referred to in the Sailing Handbook has been withdrawn, however from this point a well visible buoy line is displayed, which leads into the port |
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At the west side of the harbor there is sufficient water for U-boats nearly everywhere. Only south of the Swettenham Pier is the coastal strip silted up according to statements of the Japanese Officers, since there is a lack of excavators. Abeam the Swettenham Pier there is a broad channel up to 30 meters deep, which is especially suitable for U-boat trim tests. |
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The southern entrance is now blocked to traffic, there are probably mines there, however, it could not be known with certainty. |
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During the layover the boat lay at the Swettenham Pier. This Pier is also used, mostly by Japanese ships, as long as they are not in the Roadstead. The boat lay in a good position, the tide difference is not so big, that a strengthened watch must remain on board. However, it is advisable to secure the boat well, since a strong current is produced (3 knots) when the water runs off during the rise and fall of the tide. There are several mobile cranes on the pier, suitable for unloading or transferring torpedoes, provisions and spare parts. |
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If the other piers named in the Sailing Handbook are still suitable for steamers could not be determined, however it is assumed that that is not the case, since they were only used for small coastal vessels and row boats. |
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The Chief Engineer of the boat had visited the work and repair shops under construction at Swettenham Pier and in his judgment they are well suited to carry out small to medium-sized U-boat repairs. The only downside is that there is no dry-dock in Penang at the moment. The main reason is that the dry-dock pit is completely silted up and there are no excavators available to dredge it again. There is no knowledge of the east side of Penang port. |
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Japanese Warships in Penang: |
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Mine layer "HAKUTAKA", three U-boat hunters (300-ton boats), U-boat mother ship "HIE MARU" and U-boat I 27. |
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On I 27: Commissioned 1942, size 1800 tons, highest speed 18 knots, diving depth by the depth meter 105 meters, silhouette like I 60, forward extendable diving planes, the forward part of the bridge is covered, high periscope sheers. Armament: forward 6 torpedo tubes, aft none, forward of the bridge a 14 cm cannon, on the bridge two 2.4 cm in double mounts. Crew: 80 men, among them 10 officers. To date three war patrols. |
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Merchant Vessels: During the layover Penang Penang was only entered by small coastal freighters and two medium freighters. |
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2. Accommodation of the Crew. |
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The accommodation of the crew was was well taken care of the German Station in cooperation with the Japanese Station. Oberfeldw., Unteroffz. and men were accommodated in the "Elysee" hotel. Ob. Feldw two, Unteroffz. three to a room, the men all together in a large, very airy room. Washing and bathing facilities were plentiful. The food was kept as European as possible, it was rich and good. Since bread is a bit scarce in Penang, lunch and dinner were warm, almost always 3-4 courses. In the morning there was bread, butter and egg dishes. |
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The Officers were very well accommodated in an English house on the outskirts of the city which was confiscated by the Japanese. The food was prepared in the house by the servants themselves. |
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For transportation to the boat the Kommandanten had 1, the other officers 2, the Oberfeldw. 1 car available with driver. Two small buses were provided for the men. |
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The Japanese Navy provided a hotel on Penang Hill for the submarine crews to relax. It is about 800 meters high and can be reached by car and cable car in 45 minutes. There are tennis courts near the hotel and swimming pools nearby. It is very suitable for a submarine crew to relax, especially since it cools down to 19°C at night. The living conditions for the men are still a bit primitive, but that could be improved with very few resources. |
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3. Festivities and reception by the Japanese. |
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The Japanese received the boat in an extremely friendly and honorable manner. There were so many celebrations and trips that it was almost too much for the short time, especially since the boat itself also had to be worked on. |
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The following program unfolded during the layover in Penang: (Times are given in Tokyo time). |
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| 16.7. |
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| 14.30 |
Ceremonial welcome after mooring by Vice Admiral Hiraoka, Befehlshaber of Penang, in the presence of the entire staff, delegations from the Japanese units and the German Station. |
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| 17.00 |
Return visit of the Kommandanten and Chief Engineer in the presence of Korv.Kapt. Ehrhardt, head of the German Station, with Vice Admiral Hiraoka. |
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| 18.00 |
Greeting of the crew by Korvettenkapitän Ehrhardt. |
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| 17.7. |
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| 13.30 |
Vice Admiral Hiraoka invited the crew for lunch. Vice-Admiral Hiraoka presented a gift to the crew from the Japanese Station in a ceremonial manner. (1 packet of tropical stuff and 1 paperweight made of tin). |
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| 20.30 |
Vice-Admiral Hiraoka invited the officers and senior Oberfeldwebel of the boat to dinner at the Naval Club. |
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- 4 - |
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L A Y O V E R O F U - 511 I N |
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=============================== |
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J A P A N . |
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| 1.) |
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Kure ( 7.8. - 22.8.43. ) |
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Reception and accommodation of the crew. |
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The greeting and reception upon arrival in Kure was friendly at first, but a bit awkward and stiff. Only slowly did a friendly and informal tone emerge. The Japanese U-boat officers stood up for us, so that many small inconveniences and the stiffness slowly ebbed away. As was repeatedly found out later, Kommandierende Admiral of the Kure Naval Station, Vizeadmiral Nagumo, had absolutely no cool feelings towards us, he just had to have time to get out of his shell or he wanted to wait and see how the Germans behaved. His aide, Freg. Kpt. Jokojama, an extremely lively and active officer, later took special effort to ensure our well-being. All things could be discussed openly with him, so that by the end of the layover a good and friendly relationship had developed. |
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Accommodations were arranged as follows: Officers and Oberfeldwebel in the Officers' Club, where a whole wing with single rooms and dining room was cleared for us and handed over to us in European style. Unteroffiziere and enlisted men were housed in a large Enlisted Man's Club, and we had a spacious hall available as a dining room and lounge. All the food was European style and plentiful and good. We were given 2 small buses for transport to and from the boat. |
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In the first few days, the Japanese officials did not allowed us to enter the city. But when an objection was raised from the German side, because they felt themselves to be too much like "friendly prisoners", soldiers were allowed to visit the city accompanied by Japanese soldiers; later we got full freedom of movement without Japanese accompaniment. You noticed again and again that the Japanese side first observed the behavior and appearance of the German soldiers. When they noticed that the crew was kept very taut and made a good impression, they gave more freedom step by step if desired. |
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To rest, the Japanese Navy organized a 3-day trip to Beppa (Kyusu) for half the crew on a spa steamer (NISHIKU MARU). In addition, a bathing party was held for the remaining part. Music and film evenings were also held later as leisure activities. |
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Shipyard Period in Kure. |
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Since the boat arrived without major damage, no longer shipyard time was needed before the three week familiarization period for the Japanese crew. The main work was minor repairs to the diesels, exhaust valves, diving planes, Fu.M.G. and the removal of the mercury cargo, as well as the installation of new ballast in the keel. When counting and weighing the mercury bottles, mercury leaked through the closures (even though the seals were still on) because metal had leaked out. After wiping off the top layer of rust on the bottles, traces of mercury were repeatedly found, as well as in the keel itself. |
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The Japanese were amazed that after a 3-month voyage, the boat didn't need more repairs. They were set up for a considerably longer shipyard time. Quite frankly, many officers said that even after such an easy trip as we had, Japanese boats would have significantly more breakdowns and repairs. The shipyard began extremely busy in preparation for the work, but for the actual work to be carried out, they had to be pushed again and again by the command. Workmanship was also poor. |
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Before the start of the shipyard period, all classified material that was not to be put in Japanese hands, and the reproduction drawings used were sent under German guard to Tokyo and handed over to the Naval Attaché. The Secret items to be destroyed had already been burned before they arrived in Kure, so that from the time of the shipyard there were no longer any Secret-items that did not have to remain on board to be handed over. |
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Warships in Kure. |
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Battleship "YAMATO", type designation or description is omitted as the ship is known by the Naval Attaché. |
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Battleship "HYUGA", has just undergone an interesting conversion. The two aft gun turrets have been removed and a flight deck built in their place, so that the ship looks like a battleship silhouette up to the front edge of the aft mast, and from the aft mast on an aircraft carrier. there is a long catapult above the two turrets behind the smokestack. Nothing precise could be learned about the purpose of the conversion, since the conversion was also new to most Japanese and almost all statements contradicted each other. Most claimed that the deck was only for landing, launching was accomplished with the catapult. |
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Battleships "NOGATO" and "HUSO". |
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Heavy cruiser "ABOA", which was heavily damaged in the Solomons and is presently under repair. |
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Light cruiser of the "MIKUMA"-Class. |
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1 light cruiser each of the "KUMA"-. "NAGARA"; and the "TATURA"-Class. |
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As aircraft carriers there were: the "HOSHYO", "ZUIHO", "HIE", the former "SCHARNHORST" and a further merchant ship, that was being converted into an aircraft carrier. |
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About 12 destroyers of the "AKEBONO" and "KAWAKAZE"-Class, 2 destroyers of the "ASI"-Class, 1 of the "HINOKI"-Class. All new destroyers have a heavy anti-aircraft armament, before the bridge on a small platform and at the after mast heavy machine guns in triple mounts, (probably 2.5 cm) at the after smokestack in double mounts. |
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About 10 U-boats of all types, among then the 2600-ton Class I 29, 32, 40, 41 and 45. Concerning inspection of the newly constructed I 41 it can be said: size 2600 tons, highest speed 21 knots, 6 torpedo rubes forward, one 14 cm behind the conning tower, aircraft hanger in front of the conning tower with a recessed catapult under the over deck. The catapult was elevated and lowered by a heavy piston, which comes into the boat at the after edge of the crew compartment and can be extended and retracted by hydraulics. Diving time 1 minute 10 seconds. The general impression is that the boats are not particularly useful for convoy warfare, because they are too unwieldy due to their large size and depth control characteristics. Additionally In addition, most of them are still riveted and can only dive up to 120 meters. The engine installations are sometimes too complicated. |
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2. Layover in Otake. |
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============ |
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( 23.8. - 15.9. ) |
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On 23 August the boat drove to the Japanese U-boat School in Otake, where the future Japanese crew was to be familiarized. The reception and hospitality was particularly warm there. The leader of the school Vize- Admiral "Myguchi", and his officers were always concerned about the well-being of the German crew, several nice festivals or visits promoted the bond of friendship more and more. On the German side everything was done to maintain this good mood and increase it. For example, almost all officers of the school were invited one after the other to practice cruises, which was enthusiastically received by everyone. In general, there was a great deal of interest in the German boat, since the German submarine force has a clearly noticeable respect in Japan. |
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During this time the crew was accommodated in a good European motel on the island of "Mizajima". Since only half of the crew ever went on board for instruction, this time of year the scenically and climatically favored island was particularly beautiful. |
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In Kure, the Japanese kept asking to set up the training program. But when there was still no training plan at the beginning of the Otake period, the German side drew up a plan according to which the Japanese were trained entirely on the German model. This plan was also accepted by the Japanese. Later it was even determined that the boat should continue to operate entirely according to the German model. It should be noted that the Japanese generally have far more crew on their U-boats than we do and that at the beginning of the retraining they believed that they couldn't get by with so few men. |
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The retraining of the Japanese men took place as follows in the 3 weeks: in the first 8 days, first general boat lessons were given on the idle boat, then came specialized training at the individual stations. In the second week maneuvering exercises began, first only on the surface, then submerged. After this maneuvering period there was another week of instruction and the preparations for the handover. |
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Since the Japanese Navy had ordered particularly good crews and officers to this boat (almost all older, experienced people and above all the 4 boat officers had already made the trip from Penang to Kure), the retraining got underway quickly and without any particular difficulties. After 1and 1/2 weeks of maneuvering, at least the officers had mastered the boat and could maneuver it surfaced and submerged, not only in the simplest of conditions, but also with failures and disruptions. There was not enough time for the detailed training of the entire crew, but that should no longer be particularly difficult for the Japanese officers after this time. |
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The maneuvering exercises were held in the Inland Sea. Since the journey to and from Otake would have been too long each time, the spa steamer "NISHIKI MARU" was made available to the boat as a barracks ship for this time. The ship sailed constantly and also served as a target ship during demonstrations of night attack exercises. The headmaster asked for these demonstrations, since many of his officers doubted the invisibility of the German boat at night from so short a range. The exercises went well despite the mirror-like sea and light moonlight. During underwater attack demonstrations against zigzagging ships, the maneuverability of the boat and especially the attack periscope was praised. |
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The retraining went well for the most part because the Japanese Navy had constantly sent about 5-6 interpreters on board. They were mostly staff officers who had been in Germany for a long time and in some cases knew a great deal about U-boat construction. The two German interpreters, Mr. Apel and Matr.Gefr. Rudolf, couldn't have done it on their own, since there were always lessons on all terminology at the same time. Of these two, Mr. Apel deserves special recognition, he made himself available with his great experience in the Japanese language, the treatment of the Japanese and his good technical knowledge and always worked tirelessly. Without his help, the retraining could not have been completed in this short time. |
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In this context, the crew of the boat also deserves recognition, who really enjoyed playing the teacher themselves and introducing their Japanese partners to all the details. It was always worth noting which language both parties tried to communicate with. The leader of the training was Kaptl. (Ing.) Heuss, who completed this task with great care, skill and paitence. |
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The Otake U-boat School is still under construction. It is supposed to replace the school in Kure, which has become too small. Most of it has already moved to Otake. Everything that is important for driving a submarine is taught in spacious wooden barracks, including some weapons training. Interesting were several barracks with U-boat machinery of all types, battery and air conditioning systems, as well as large dark rooms in which the recognition and spotting of ships is practiced very eagerly in all lighting conditions, rooms in which fixed periscopes were used, depth control exercises on sling stands. For practical driver training, currently about 10 older boats. |
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The school makes a good impression overall. The headmaster, Vize Admiral Hyguchi, one of Japan's oldest U-boat drivers, repeatedly emphasized that submarine training in Japan had taken a very big upswing, as it was expected to significantly impact the war. Hence the great interest in the German boat, because Germany is considered a great role model in Japan in terms of submarine construction and warfare. |
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He personally went along for 2 days and had all the properties of the boat demonstrated to him. He saw the following as very special advances: very low silhouette, fast diving ability, maneuverability on the surface and submerged, simpler machine operation than on Japanese boats, periscope and fire control system. Deficiencies were felt: the torpedoes are too slow and the lack of air conditioning, which, according to the Japanese view, must be on board a submarine for patrols to the tropics, otherwise the efficiency of the crew would drop very much. |
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3. Transfer of U-511 to the Japanese Navy. |
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16.9.43 |
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The handover of the boat took place in a ceremonial context by the German Naval Attaché, Vice Admiral Wennecher, and from the Japanese side the Emperor's Emissary, Vice Admiral Nagumo, and a further 7 Japanese Vice and Rear Admirals. |
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At 10:00 hours both crews assembled on the stern. After a short speech by the Kommandant the boat was decommissioned and handed over to the Japanese Kommandanten. |
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After the boat was commissioned on the Japanese side, Vice Admiral Sawamoto thanked the German crew for their achievements and, in the name of the Emperor, awarded the Kommandanten the 5th class of the Order of the Sacred Treasure. |
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