Shrub Knight (submarine group)

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Shrub Knight was the name of a German submarine group that was used against northern sea convoys in World War II according to the principle of pack tactics . This submarine group of a total of nine boats operated on the convoy QP 11 from April 29, 1942 to May 5, 1942 .

Convoy QP 11

The North Atlantic convoy system organized by the British Admiralty ensured the supply of the Soviet Union with war-essential goods. The first of these convoys left for northern Russia in August 1941. The ports of destination in winter were the port of Murmansk , which was free of ice due to the Gulf Stream, and, after the ice border had withdrawn in summer, Arkhangelsk . The name of the convoys was derived from the initials of the frigate captain PQ Roberts, who was commissioned with the planning. The convoys returning from Murmansk, mostly carrying ballast, were named accordingly with the letters QP and consecutive numbering. By the spring of 1942, 12 PQ convoys, under the protection of the Home Fleet , had reached northern Russia without any significant losses. Only one of the 103 ships involved was lost as a result of a submarine attack. Only seven PQ 14 ships had reached Murmansk in April. From them and other ships of the previous convoys QP 11 was put together, which gathered in the Kola Bay and set out to sea on April 28, 1942 under the command of Captain WH Lawrence.

Involved submarines

The submarine group was formed from boats from various U. Flotillas, some of which were subordinate to commanders experienced in the Arctic Ocean. At the time of deployment, U 88 was still subordinate to the 8th U-Flotilla . Captain Heino Bohmann had been in command since October 1941 and had arrived by boat from Kiel the previous month. The overpass marked the end of the training run of U 88. Strauchritter was the first mission as a front boat, for which U 88 left Kirkenes on April 29th .

Kapitänleutnant Heinrich (known as "Kill") Timm had only sailed the U 251 as a training boat for the 6th U-Flotilla and had also only arrived from Kiel the previous month. U 251 left Kirkenes on April 29 for its first deployment as the front boat of this flotilla .

Captain Friedrich-Karl Marks on U 376 had already operated against the convoys QP 9, PQ 13 and PQ 14 with the boat, which belonged to the 6th U-Flotilla, and sank the British steamer Induna . U 376 left Kirkenes on April 29th.

Captain Alfred Hoschatt had already operated on QP 9 in spring with the U 378 , which was used as the front boat of the 3rd U-Flotilla , but had no success. The boat left Kirkenes on April 29th.

U 405 had arrived from Kiel in the spring, sailed as a training boat with the 8th U-Flotilla and was now subordinate to the 1st U-Flotilla . Commander Hoopmann had been on patrol from Drontheim since April 26, when the boat was assigned to the submarine group two days later.

Captain Günther Seibicke and U 436 had been subordinate to the 7th U-Flotilla since February 1st and had operated on two previous patrols against QP 9 and PQ 13 in the spring. The boat left Kirkenes on April 29, but had to break off the journey prematurely due to damage to the radio direction finder.

For Kapitänleutnant Max-Martin Teichert, the operation against QP 11 was already the fifth patrol with U 456 . The boat had operated on two previous patrols against the convoys QP 9, PQ 13, QP 10 and PQ 14 and left Kirkenes on April 29.

Kapitänleutnant Hans Joachim Horrer was involved in the attacks on QP 9 and PQ 13 with U 589 on the previous patrol. The boat, which was assigned to the 6th U-Flotilla at the time, left Kirkenes on April 29.

U 703 under Kapitänleutnant Heinz Bielfeld had previously only completed training and transfer trips and had been on patrol from Bergen on April 26th.

commitment

On April 30th, Lieutenant Heino Bohmann on U 88 († September 12th, 1942 on the third patrol with the entire crew in the North Sea) sighted the convoy on his first patrol and sent the radio message 0055/788 at 1:10 a.m.: "Enemy convoy in sight of square 5924. Enemy steers NE course." In accordance with the principles of pack tactics, U 88 kept in contact with the escort and Commander Bohmann regularly gave guidance signals to enable the other U-boats to approach. However, this should only succeed U 251 , U 436 , U 456 and U 589 .

successes

U 456 managed to torpedo the British light cruiser Edinburgh , which did not sink, but later suffered further damage from German destroyers and ultimately had to be abandoned. U 589 torpedoed the Soviet freighter Ziolkowski , but it was saved. U 251 under Commander Timm sank the British freighter Jutland on May 3, which was traveling in the oncoming convoy.

Notes and individual references

  1. ^ Richard Woodman: "The Arctic Convoys 1941 - 1945" , John Murray Ltd., London 1995, ISBN 0719550793 , p. 42
  2. ↑ British freighter Waziristan traveling in convoy PQ 7 sunk by U 134 on January 2nd
  3. ↑ Schofield, p. 176.
  4. ↑ Busch, Röll, Vol. 3, p. 182
  5. ↑ Busch, Röll, Vol. 5, p. 336.

literature

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