U 185

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U 185
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U-185.jpg
U 185 sinks after a depth charge attack
Type : IX C / 40
Field Post Number : 05 635
Shipyard: Deschimag AG Weser, Bremen
Construction contract: August 15, 1940
Build number: 1025
Keel laying: July 1, 1941
Launch: March 2, 1942
Commissioning: June 13, 1942
Commanders:

August mouse

Flotilla:
  • June 1942 - October 1942 4th U-Flotilla training boat
  • November 1942 - August 1943 10th U-Flotilla front boat
Calls: 3 activities
Sinkings:

9 ships with 62,728 GRT sunk,
one ship with 6,840 GRT damaged,
two aircraft shot down

Whereabouts: Sunk off Brazil on August 24, 1943 (43 dead, 14 of them by U 604 , and 32 prisoners of war, 9 of them by U 604 )

U 185 was a German submarine from the Type IX C / 40 , which by the Navy during the U-boat campaign in World War II in the South, West and North Atlantic , and in the Caribbean and off the coast of Brazil was used and his three patrols a total of 9 vessels with 62,728 BRT sunk. Than 23 members of the crew from the sunken U 604 had on board, it was sunk on August 24, 1943. Brazil, with 43 submarine driver were killed and 32 American prisoners of war came.

Construction and technical data

The Bremen shipyard of Deschimag AG Weser has been building submarines since 1934 on behalf of the Reichsmarine, sometimes circumventing the provisions of the Versailles Treaty . After the war began, the shipyard in the submarine construction program was involved the navy and stopped production mainly to the construction of submarines of the submarine class IX C to. U 185 was part of the fifteenth construction contract that was placed with this shipyard and included the boats U 181 to U 188 . An IX C / 40 boat was 76.76  m long, 6.86 m wide and had a draft of 4.67 m. It displaced 1,144 t above water and 1,257 t submerged. Two 2,200-horsepower diesel engines enabled a top speed of 18.3  knots , that is 33.9  km / h . During the dive trip, an IX C / 40 boat was powered by two electric motors, which with a total of 1,000 hp ensured a top speed of 7.3 kn, which corresponds to 13.5 km / h. Under water, such a submarine had a range of 63 nm at an average speed of 4 kn. At an average speed of 10 knots, a Type IX C / 40 had a range of 13,850 nm. These submarines were armed with 22 torpedoes that could be ejected from four bow and two stern torpedo tubes . They were also armed with artillery . Like most German submarines his time had U 185 a boat specific character: the green bow of a dragon boat of the Vikings against red sky blue spray.

Commitment and history

From June 13, 1942 to October 31, 1942, U 185 belonged to the 4th U-Flotilla , a training flotilla stationed in Stettin . During this time, Commandant Maus undertook training trips in the Baltic Sea to retract the boat and train the crew. On November 1, 1942, the boat was assigned to the 10th U-Flotilla , a front-line flotilla stationed in Lorient in western France , to which only boats of the IX C type and the dairy cows belonged to the submarine class XIV supply boats .

Before Gibraltar

On October 27, 1942, Kapitänleutnant August Maus set out with U 185 for his first venture with this boat from Kiel . The intended area of ​​operation was the North Atlantic. On November 24, U 185 was badly damaged by an aircraft attack. Commander Maus therefore decided to break off the patrol in the intended area of ​​operations and to meet with U 118 in the sea area west of Gibraltar . This boat served as a tank submarine for the submarines of the Westwall group operating off Gibraltar and Morocco , which were supposed to seek combat with Allied convoy groups according to the pack tactics developed by Karl Dönitz , and had spare parts on board. Following the successful repair, Commander Maus continued the operation in this sea area and a few days later sank a British freighter that was used to supply the Allied Corps that had landed in North Africa a month earlier as part of Operation Torch .

  • 7th December 1942 British freighter Peter Maersk (5476) sunk with torpedo

On January 1st, U 185 arrived at its new base in Lorient.

In the Caribbean

The Windward Passage between Cuba and Haiti

Commander Maus set out from Lorient on February 8 for his second operation with U 185 . The boat was approaching the intended area of ​​operations on the American west coast when the submarine command commanded Commander Maus to approach the position of U 569 , which had recently been under the command of Hans Johannsen on February 11 had reported a convoy. Commander Maus sighted the reported convoy on February 13 and, contrary to the specifications of the pack tactics , decided to launch an underwater attack during the day. Due to a mechanical defect or as a result of a mistake by the first officer of U 185 , who was responsible for firing the torpedoes, none of the torpedoes used left the tubes. Also none of the Delphin submarines that arrived later was successful in attack. A day later, the submarine command broke off the attack on this convoy. U 185 turned west again and arrived in the Gulf of Mexico in early March . Here a small fleet of four IX C-boats had been drawn together, which were supposed to seek combat with single drivers. In addition to U 185 , it was U 68 , U 155 and U 183 that had arrived first. A few days later, Commander Maus sank a tanker and a Liberty freighter in the Windward Passage .

  • March 10, 1943 American tanker Virginia Sinclair (6,151 GRT) sunk with torpedo
  • March 10, 1943 American freighter James Sprunt (7,177 GRT) sunk with torpedo

Since the air security in this sea area - in addition to airplanes also blimps - made the use of the submarines very difficult, the four boats fell far short of the expectations placed on them. Commandant Maus managed only one more attack on this venture.

  • April 6, 1943 American steamer John Sevier (7,143 GRT) sunk with torpedo

The boat then returned to France and entered Bordeaux on May 3, 1943 .

Before Brazil

The Brazilian freighter Bagé

On June 9th, Commander Maus left Bordeaux with U 185 for his third expedition with this boat. When U 564 was badly damaged by depth charges while attempting to pass the Strait of Gibraltar on June 13th during an air raid , Commander Maus received the order to escort U 564 with U 185 and transfer the submarine to the northern Spanish one To escort coast. On this voyage, both boats were attacked by a British Whitley bomber , whereupon U 564 sank. The British bomber belonged to the Operational Training Units (OTU) of the Coastal Command and was manned by an Australian crew who was in training. The crew of U 185 succeeded in shooting down the aircraft, then Commander Maus had the survivors of U 564 taken on board. After handing over the crew members of U 564 to the German destroyer Z 24 , Commander Maus continued his approach to the intended area of ​​operations for U 185 , the west coast of America. The boat belonged to a group of seven submarines that were supposed to attack the shipping traffic off Brazil . On July 7, Commander Maus discovered a convoy in the sea area between Fortaleza and Natal , which was on its way from Bahia to Trinidad , and sank three ships.

  • July 7th 1943 American steamer William Boyce Thompson (7,061 GRT) sunk with torpedo
  • July 7, 1943 American steamer James Robertson (7,176 GRT) sunk with torpedo
  • July 7, 1943 American tanker Thomas Sinnickson (7,176 GRT) sunk with torpedo

Commander Maus also reported having damaged two other ships, but was unable to observe their sinking because he decided to have U 185 submerged in the face of artillery fire. At the beginning of August, Commander Maus sank another ship.

  • August 1, 1943 Brazilian steamer Bagé (8,235 GRT) sunk with torpedo

At the beginning of August, U 604 , which was patrolling the sea area in front of Maceio , was so badly damaged by an air attack that the boat had to be abandoned. At this point in time, U 185 and U 172 were the last remaining German submarines in Brazilian waters. The submarine command accordingly instructed the two commanders to meet with U 604 to pick up the crew.

Sinking

USS Core aircraft sunk U 185
Lieutenant August Maus as a prisoner of the US Navy aboard USS Core
Captain MR Greer interrogates August Maus aboard USS Core

The radio communication between the submarine command and the three submarines could be deciphered by the British intelligence service, so that U 604 and the approaching U 185 were tracked at the designated meeting point. The crew of U 185 managed to repel an attacking aircraft with anti-aircraft fire . The boat was then able to escape by diving. On the approach to the next meeting with U 604, Commander Maus sank another ship.

  • 6th August 1943 British steamer Fort Halkett (7,133 GRT) sunk with torpedo

Five days later, the three boats met 2,000 km east of Natal. U 604 handed over provisions and fuel to U 185 and was just being prepared for sinking when an American B 24 bomber attacked. It was the same machine that had severely damaged the U 604 on August 3. While Carl Emmermann , commander of U 172 , decided to dive, commander Maus let the artillery of U 185 open fire on the bomber, which fell into the water a short time later, killing all 10 crew members. A few days later, U 185 met again with U 172 and handed over about half of the crew of U 604 , which had meanwhile been sunk as planned. August Maus confronted Carl Emmermann about his decision to submerge his submarine when the B 24 attacked. Emmermann justified his actions with the fact that the bombardment of the bomber had killed one of his crew members and that his guns would not have been operational. In order to make the return journey to northern France possible, the two boats were ordered to meet with the supply boat U 847 to refuel. U 172 arrived first. The bridge watch of the supply boat and the safety measures taken by its commander Herbert Kuppisch made such a bad impression on Emmermann that he confronted Kuppisch about it. When U 185 arrived at the meeting point on August 24, U 172 had already disappeared again. While searching for U 847 , U 185 was attacked by a Wildcat fighter and an Avenger torpedo aircraft belonging to the aircraft carrier USS Core . The Wildcat's volley disabled the bridge watch and killed the boat's second officer on watch . The depth charges Avenger damaged the hull and caused the leakage of chlorine gas , allowing multiple submarine driver died within a short time. When the chlorine spread, the former commander of U 604 , Horst Höltring, shot two seriously wounded sailors - including a man from U 185 who was no longer able to walk with a bad gunshot wound to his leg - in the bow torpedo room of U 185 and then shot himself at their request himself. In view of the damage, Commander Maus ordered the diving rescuers to put on, leave the boat and sink them themselves . When a large part of the crew was on deck, the Avenger aircraft attacked again, causing "a bloodbath" in the words of Maus. According to the US report, on the other hand, the aircraft did not fire (any longer) at the men on deck because they left the sinking boat. The destroyer Barker , which was used to secure the Core , rescued 36 submariners from the water a little later, including nine crew members from U 604 , and then transferred them to the Core . The chief engineer Oberleutnant (Ing.) Herbert Ackermann and the ship's doctor, senior assistant doctor George Bamler from U 185 , died a short time later on board the Barker as a result of chlorine gas poisoning, and two other submarine drivers died shortly afterwards on board the Core , which means only 32 prisoners remained. As a result of the sinking, a total of 29 crew members of U 185 died - including those on board the Barker and Core - and 14 of U 604 . 23 crew members of U 185 (without the onboard the Barker and Core dead) and 9 of U 604 came in US captivity .

Notes and individual references

  1. ↑ Rainer Busch, Hans-Joachim Röll: The U-Boat War 1939-1945. Volume 2: U-boat construction in German shipyards. 1997, pp. 210-211.
  2. ↑ Bodo Herzog: German U-Boats 1906–1966. 1996, p. 199.
  3. ^ Georg Högel: Emblems, coats of arms, Malings German submarines 1939-1945. 5th edition. Koehlers Verlagsgesellschaft mbH, Hamburg 2009, ISBN 978-3-7822-1002-7 , p. 70
  4. ↑ On February 7th, Johannsen replaced the previous commander, Peter Hinsch, who was judged to be " too cautious " by the submarine command
  5. ^ The stipulations of the pack tactics provided for waiting for the arrival of several submarines and attacking a convoy over water at night.
  6. ^ Bernard Ireland: The Battle of the Atlantic , Naval Institute Press, Annapolis, Maryland 2003, ISBN 1-59114-032-3 , p. 148
  7. ↑ The five surviving Australian crew members of the Whitley bomber were rescued by French fishermen and were taken prisoner of war.
  8. ↑ One of the ships hit by Maus was the SB Hunt , a 6,840 GRT tanker that reached a port badly damaged and was later put back into service.
  9. ↑ In Carl Emmermann's view, Herbert Kuppisch, who held an on-board command for the first time after two years on land, was one of the submarine commanders, at whose time the threat from aircraft did not yet play a major role.
  10. ^ A b Kenneth G. Wynn: U-boat Operations of the Second World War: Career histories, U1-U510. Chatham, 1997. U 185 , pp. 138-139.
  11. ^ Friedrich (Fritz) Wagenführ, machine mate and central mate on U 604, in: Gudrun Strüber [daughter of Friedrich Wagenführ]: Blue boys! Green boys? A submarine driver remembers. Fabuloso Verlag, Bilshausen 2017.
  12. ^ Report of the commander, Lieutenant August Maus. In: German U-Boats 1935–1945, U 185, Ubootarchiv.de. Retrieved August 27, 2019.

literature

  • Rainer Busch, Hans-Joachim Röll: The submarine war 1939-1945. Volume 1: The German submarine commanders. Preface by Prof. Dr. Jürgen Rohwer, Member of the Presidium of the International Commission on Military History. ES Mittler and Son, Hamburg / Berlin / Bonn 1996, p. 156, ISBN 3-8132-0490-1 .
  • Rainer Busch, Hans-Joachim Röll: The submarine war 1939-1945. Volume 2: Submarine construction in German shipyards. ES Mittler und Sohn, Hamburg / Berlin / Bonn 1997, pp. 79, 211, ISBN 3-8132-0512-6 .
  • Rainer Busch, Hans-Joachim Röll: The submarine war 1939-1945. Volume 3: The German submarine successes from September 1939 to May 1945. ES Mittler und Sohn, Hamburg / Berlin / Bonn 2008, p. 138, ISBN 978-3-8132-0513-8 .
  • Rainer Busch, Hans-Joachim Röll: The submarine war 1939-1945. Volume 4: The German submarine losses from September 1939 to May 1945. ES Mittler und Sohn, Hamburg / Berlin / Bonn 2008, pp. 109, 137f., 141–144, ISBN 978-3-8132-0514-5 .
  • Erich Gröner , Dieter Jung, Martin Maas: The German warships 1815-1945. Volume 3: Submarines, auxiliary cruisers, mine ships, net layers. Bernhard & Graefe Verlag, Munich 1985, ISBN 3-7637-4802-4 .
  • Clay Blair : The Submarine War. Volume 2: The Hunted 1942–1945 . Heyne Verlag, Munich 1999. pp. 157, 160, 249, 276f., 431, 440, 444f., 448, 470, ISBN 3-453-16059-2 .
  • Bodo Herzog: German U-Boats 1906–1966. Karl Müller, Erlangen 1996, ISBN 3-86070-036-7 .

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