U 459

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U 459
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U-boat Warfare 1939-1945 C3780.jpg
The already badly damaged U 459 during an aircraft attack
Type : XIV
Field Post Number : M 42 590
Shipyard: Deutsche Werke AG , Kiel
Construction contract: May 14, 1940
Build number: 290
Keel laying: November 22, 1940
Launch: September 13, 1941
Commissioning: November 15, 1941
Commanders:

April 2, 1942 - July 24, 1943
Corvette captain zV Georg von Wilamowitz-Moellendorf

Flotilla:
Calls: 6 activities
Sinkings:

none (2 planes shot down)

Whereabouts: Sunk in the Bay of Biscay on July 24, 1943 (19 dead, 41 prisoners of war)

U 459 was a German submarine of the type XIV ("Milchkuh"), which was used by the German navy during World War II . As a supply submarine, it was not intended for attacking enemy naval forces and did not sink any ships, but shot down a total of two aircraft. On July 24, 1943, the submarine was sunk in the Bay of Biscay by two British planes, one of which was shot down. Of the 60 crew members, 19 died, including the 49-year-old commandant Georg von Wilamowitz-Moellendorf , and 41 were taken prisoner by the Allies .

Technical specifications

As a submarine class XIV - known as the "Milchkuh" - U 459 had no torpedoes because, as a particularly large submarine, it supplied other German submarines with crew, fuel, food and ammunition. However, it was armed with a 3.7 cm FlaK SK C / 30 with 2500 rounds of ammunition and a 2 cm FlaK C / 30 with 3000 rounds of ammunition and could therefore take up combat with opposing aircraft or take attacking ships under fire .

U 459 had a water displacement of 1688 t when traveling above water and 1932 t under water. It was a total of 67.1 m long, 9.35 m wide, 11.7 m high with a 48.5 m long pressure hull and had a draft of 6.5 m. The submarine, built by Deutsche Werke AG in Kiel , was powered by two four-stroke diesel engines from Germaniawerft with 6 cylinders each and an output of 2060 to 2350 kW, while underwater it was powered by two electric motors from Siemens-Schuckertwerke with a total output of 550 kW . It had two drive shafts and propellers. The boat was suitable for diving to a depth of 240 m.

The submarine reached speeds of up to 14.4 to 14.9 knots when traveling above water and up to 6.2 knots under water. When surfaced, the boat could travel up to 12,350 nautical miles at 10 knots and up to 120 nautical miles submerged at 2 knots. Like most German submarines of its time, the U 459 also had a boat-specific logo on the tower . After the third venture, the stylized representation of an elephant in front of two palm trees was chosen. On the other hand, the crew wore a standing oval on their caps and boats .

commander

Georg von Wilamowitz-Moellendorf, who was U 459's commander during the entire service period , was born on November 7, 1893 in Weimar and at the last 49 years was one of the oldest German submarine commanders of the Second World War. He joined the Imperial Navy on April 1, 1912 and served as an officer on watch on the SM U 46 , SM U 82 and SM U 95 during the First World War . On December 27, 1919 Georg von Wilamowitz-Moellendorf resigned from the service.

During the Second World War he was first commander of the 100 construction battalion, which was made up of units from the Reich Labor Service . From summer 1940 he served in the 1st U-Training Division in Pillau (East Prussia) . On August 6, he became the commandant of the U 2 school boat . On November 15, 1941, Kapitänleutnant von Wilamowitz-Moellendorf, who was nicknamed "the Wild Moritz", took command of U 459 . On June 1, 1942, he was promoted to corvette captain.

While significantly younger commanders were used in the smaller front-line submarines during World War II , more experienced commanders were preferred for the cumbersome supply submarines, which were all built by Deutsche Werke AG in Kiel . As it turned out at the end, the use in these submarines was even more risky, because by 1944 all ten “ dairy cows ” had been sunk. Georg von Wilamowitz-Moellendorf was killed on July 27, 1943 when his submarine U 459 was sunk with 18 of his men. Due to the high loss rates, construction of this submarine class was discontinued shortly after the loss of U 459 in August 1943.

Calls

U 459 was stationed from November 15, 1941 to March 31, 1942 with the 4th Flotilla in Stettin after being commissioned under Corvette Captain of the Reserve Georg von Wilamowitz-Moellendorf (1893-1943) . On March 21, 1942 U 459 was transferred from Kiel to Helgoland , which was reached on March 22.

First supply trip

On March 29, 1942, the Helgoland submarine ran for its first supply trip in the North Atlantic and northeast of Bermuda , where it supplied 15 submarines. From April 20 to May 5, 1942, the following were supplied with fuel or provisions: U 108 , U 98 , U 333 , U 98 , U 564 , U 333 , U 571 , U 564 , U 582 , U 571 , U 582 , U 582 , U 352 , U 566 , U 594 , U 572 , U 69 , U 594 , U 572 , U 558 , U 751 , U 103 and U 753 . On May 15, 1942, U 459 entered Saint-Nazaire and was now subordinate to the 10th U-Flotilla, to which all “dairy cows” belonged at the time.

Second supply trip

On June 6, 1942, the submarine left Saint-Nazaire for its second supply voyage, during which it supplied 17 submarines in the mid-Atlantic . From June 14th to July 8th 1942 the following were supplied with fuel or provisions: U 558 , U 753 , U 203 , U 566 , U 106 , U 432 , U 653 , U 135 , U 575 , U 571 , U 134 , U 437 , U 85 , U 107 , U 404 , U 754 and U 128 . U 459 returned to Saint-Nazaire on July 19, 1942 .

Third supply trip

On August 18, 1942, the submarine from Saint-Nazaire ran out for its third supply trip, during which it supplied nine submarines as part of the submarine group "Polar Bear" in the South Atlantic and south of Ascension Island . From September 22 to October 15, 1942, the following were supplied with fuel or provisions: U 172 , U 68 , U 504 , U 159 , U 107 , U 333 , U 552 , U 125 , U 174 and U 462 . On November 4, 1942, U 459 returned to Saint-Nazaire.

Fourth supply trip

From November 1, 1942, U 459, like all "dairy cows", was subordinate to the 12th U-Flotilla , which was re-established on October 15, 1942. The fourth supply trip led U 459 on December 20, 1942 from Saint-Nazaire to the South Atlantic, where it supplied 8 submarines. From December 26, 1942 to February 27, 1943, the following were supplied with fuel or provisions: U 564 , U 185 , Cagni , U 516 , U 509 , U 506 , U 160 , U 160 and U 513 . On March 7, 1943, Bordeaux was called, the base of the 12th U-Flotilla.

Fifth supply trip

U 459 ran from Bordeaux on April 20, 1943 on its fifth supply trip, during which it supplied 22 submarines in the central North Atlantic. A British aircraft, an Armstrong Whitworth Whitley of the RAF Squadron 10 OTU , was shot down. From May 1 to May 26, 1943, the following were supplied with fuel or provisions: U 306 , U 306 , U 258 , U 168 , U 648 , U 381 , U 226 , U 260 , U 378 , U 448 , U 454 , U 448 , U 436 , U 709 , U 569 , U 466 , U 402 , U 650 , U 262 , U 129 , U 403 , U 231 , U 305 , U 218 and U 92 . On June 3, 1943, the submarine returned to Bordeaux.

Sixth supply trip

The sixth supply trip began on July 22, 1943 with the departure from Bordeaux and led through the Bay of Biscay. No more submarines could be supplied.

Sinking

On July 24, 1943, U 459 in the Gulf of Biscay by depth charges of a British Vickers Wellington Q of 172. Squadron of the Royal Air Force , flew by WHT Jennings, and a Vickers Wellington V of the 547th Squadron of the RAF, piloted by J Whyte, badly damaged. Commander von Wilamowitz-Möllendorf decided to stay on the surface with the boat and to counter the attack with his own artillery. Jennings plane was shot down, but crashed into the sea right next to the submarine, causing the left wing to tear a huge hole in the aft deck of the boat. A motor crashed into the middle of the boat and destroyed the tower and the quadruple flak, and six men of the submarine's crew were killed. After the destroyed machine was pushed into the sea, the men of U 459 discovered three depth charges, two on the bridge and one on the quarterdeck. The commandant of Wilamowitz-Möllendorf allowed speed to pick up and instructed his crew to roll the depth charges overboard. One or more of the depth charges, which were set to shallow depths, subsequently detonated close to the boat, causing considerable damage to U 459 .

The boat sank only slowly, and large parts of the crew managed to escape into the inflatables on the orders of their commanding officer. While the survivors paddled away, they made out Commander of Wilamowitz-Möllendorf on the tower , who waved to them. The commander then went to the headquarters to open the valves there by hand. Commandant of Wilamowitz-Möllendorf went down with the boat that then quickly sank. In the course of the attack and as a result of the sinking, numerous crew members and the chief engineer Heinz Grotz were killed in addition to the commander . However, 41 men from U 459 managed to leave the boat on time. They were taken on board as prisoners of war by the Polish destroyer ORP Orkan (G90) . A total of 19 crew members including the commander died in the sinking, while 41 were taken prisoner by the Allies. A man who was rescued by the ORP hurricane survived from the downed plane .

See also

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Georg Högel: Emblems, coats of arms, Malings German submarines 1939-1945. Koehlers Verlagsgesellschaft mbH, Hamburg 2009, page 109.
  2. ↑ Reinhard Suhren , Fritz Brustat-Naval : Nasses Eichenlaub As Commander and FdU in U-Boat War , Koehlers Verlagsgesellschaft mbH, Herford 1983, ISBN 3 7822 0316 X , page 115
  3. ^ A b Clay Blair : The Submarine War. Volume 2: The Hunted, 1942–1945. Heyne, Munich 1999, ISBN 3-453-16059-2 , page 465
  4. ↑ Martin Pfitzmann: U-Bootgruppe Eisbär Operation in Cape Town , Moewig Verlag, Edition Documentation, Rastatt 1986, ISBN 3-8118-4351-6 , page 33

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. 255. ISBN 3-8132-0490-1 .
  • Rainer Busch, Hans-Joachim Röll: The submarine war 1939-1945. Volume 2: Submarine construction in German shipyards. ES Mittler and Son, Hamburg / Berlin / Bonn 1997, pp. 61, 190. ISBN 978-3-8132-0512-1 .
  • 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, p. 122f. ISBN 978-3-8132-0514-5 .
  • Michael Gannon: Operation bang. The German submarine war against the USA. Ullstein Verlag, Berlin 1992, p. 358. ISBN 3-5500-7206-6 .
  • Michael L. Hadley: Submarines versus Canada. ES Mittler and Son, Hamburg / Berlin / Bonn 1990, p. 189. ISBN 3-8132-0333-6 .
  • John F. White: Submarine Tankers 1941-1945. Koehler Verlag, Hamburg 2000. ISBN 3-7822-0790-4 .
  • 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 - The Hunters 1939–1942 . Heyne Verlag, 1998. pp. 378, 623, 628, 630–632, 636, 661, 664, 667, 669, 670, 676–678, 680, 684, 695, 719, 722, 775, 777. ISBN 3- 453-12345-X .
  • Clay Blair: The Submarine War - The Hunted 1942–1945 . Heyne Verlag, 1999. pp. 93, 95, 103, 105, 109, 119f., 228, 285, 313, 337, 341, 385, 397, 646, 456, 465, 468, 479. ISBN 3-453-16059 -2 .
  • Bodo Herzog: German U-Boats 1906–1966. Karl Müller, Erlangen 1996, ISBN 3-86070-036-7 .
  • Paul Kemp: The German and Austrian submarine losses in both world wars. Urbes Verlag, Graefelfing before Munich 1998, ISBN 3-924896-43-7 .

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