Battle of the Atlantic

[cardboard_killer]

[80 years ago today] "• U-462 is damaged with one killed and four wounded in an attack by two Coastal Command Mosquitos.

 

• U-662 is attacked and sunk by a USN PBY and a Brazilian Hudson flying cover for convoy TJ-2. The 2cm flak guns jam during the attack. The captain and two crewmen survive to be picked up by armed yacht USS Siren.

 

U-662 under attack - note deck gun has been removed"

[cardboard_killer]

[80 years ago today] "• U-732 is unable to attack a convoy off Cabo Maisí, the eastern tip of Cuba, as she is detected first and driven off by escorts.

 

• U-159 is sunk with all hands by a US Navy PBM Mariner in the Caribbean south of the Domincan Republic.

 

• U-647 is six days out from Kiel on her first patrol and misses a scheduled report. She is never heard from again and the reason for her loss is unknown.

 

• U-404 is located on radar by an American B-24, but on attacking the depth charges fail to release. The aircraft waits several hours for the boat to resurface and attacks again. Despite a 2cm shell detonating inside the cockpit, the pilot drops eight depth charges into the boats diving point. Flak damage to the radio and one engine then force the aircraft to return to base as a second American B-24 arrives on scene. This one attacks twice but flak damage also forces this aircraft to RTB, this time to one engine, the tail and the fuselage. The last attack is observed by a British Liberator, which this time attacks and sinks the boat with all hands. This Liberator has one engine knocked out by flak, and the plane barely makes it back to base after jettisoning all guns and loose equipment.

 

• A Blohm und Voss flying boat is reconnoitering around a British convoy off Scotland when shot down by an escorting Canadian Beaufighter.

 

The Bv-138, 27 July, 1943"

Edited July 28, 2023 by cardboard_killer

[cardboard_killer]

[80 years ago today] "• German submarine U-591 is sunk off Pernambuco, Brazil, by a Brazilian B-25 and a US Navy PV-1. There are 28 survivors.

 

• A group of three outbound boats (U-tankers U-461 and U-462 and Type IXC U-504) is spotted by a British Liberator aircraft in the Bay of Biscay. Its sighting report brings up six other aircraft and the 2nd Escort Group. The aircraft from six different Squadrons have no radio contact with each other, so a coordinated attack is difficult. One Liberator attacks U-461, but its depth charges undershoot and the heavy AA fire hits two engines, forcing the aircraft to land in Portugal where the crew is interned for a short time. An Australian Sunderland quickly follows and sinks U-461 with fifteen survivors being picked up.

 

U-461 under attack by No 461 Squadron RAAF Sunderland.

 

- U-462 is then sunk cooperatively by a Halifax aircraft and British sloops Wren, Kite, Woodpecker, Wild Goose, and Woodcock, with all but one crewman being taken captive. The sloops then gain an ASDIC contact, sinking U-504 with all hands.

 

• German submarine U-43 is sunk with all hands south-west of the Azores by a Fido homing torpedo from an Avenger aircraft of escort carrier USS Santee. The last Type IXA in service, she is one of the highest scoring U-boats with 21 ships sunk massing 117,000 tons. This is Santee’s third U-boat kill in two weeks.

 

• U-375 is sunk with all hands northwest of Malta by depth charges from American sub chaser PC-624.

 

That’s six U-boats down in a single day. "

[cardboard_killer]

[80 years ago today] "• Carrier USS Ranger has been conducting aircraft ferry missions since Operation Torch. Today, after completing a minor refit, she re-embarks her naval air group for the first time in six months and departs the US to join the British Home Fleet.

 

• Polish cryptanalysts Henryk Zygalski and Marian Rejewski, who first broke the German Enigma code, arrive at Hendon aerodrome, ending a long exile on France, Algeria and Spain. They are excluded from Bletchley Park for security reasons, and will be inducted into the Polish Army in Exile, breaking German messages in the SS and SD hand ciphers. The ciphers are usually based on the Doppelkassettenverfahren system, which the two cryptologists had first broken in 1940 while working in Paris.

 

• U-66 is surprised by an Avenger/Wildcat team from USS Card in the Central Atlantic. The F4F strafing run kills the 2nd Watch Officer and two crewmen, while wounding the Commander and 1st Watch Officer. One depth charge damages the boat before it can crash dive. Type XB U-tanker U-117 is ordered to meet U-66 three days later for medical assistance and to transfer a watch officer as replacement.

 

• East of Trinidad, a Navy PBM Mariner reports attacking a U-boat. Neither it nor U-572, which is in the area, are ever heard from again.

 

• U-706 is sunk in the Bay of Biscay by depth charges from an American B-24 and a Canadian Hampden aircraft."

 

The Royal Canadian Museum of Flight: Handley Page Hampden

 

Quote

P5436 was one of the Canadian-built Hampdens. It survived only 100 hours of flying time before crashing near Patricia Bay, on November 15th, 1942, while engaged in torpedo dropping practice. The pilot made the error of turning at low speed and altitude, causing the aircraft to fall into a "stabilized yaw", a known Hampden flaw. The aircraft quickly sank 600 feet to the bottom. The 4-man crew was more fortunate, as the pilot of a passing Stranraer flying boat had seen the mishap, and they were plucked out of the water, with very minor injuries, within minutes.

In the 1980's, CMF salvaged the remains of Hampden AN136 from Mt. Tuam on Saltspring Island, and a later AN132 from a mountaintop near Ucluelet. Our underwater recovery crew was aware of P5436, but the exact location continued to elude SONAR and underwater cameras. In 1985, some detective work into wartime RCAF files pinpointed the depth of the wreck, and this was almost immediately rewarded by some beautiful SONAR views of a complete Hampden!

...

The Museum’s Hampden is the sole survivor of its type on display anywhere in the world although another example was recovered from a crash site in Russia and is under restoration in Britain. The twin engine Hampden was part of the Royal Air Force’s front line equipment at the start of World War 2 but was soon rendered obsolete and retired from active operations against Nazi Germany during the summer of 1943.

 

 

[cardboard_killer]

[80 years ago today] "• U-757 torpedoes and sinks the Norwegian 4,100 ton steamer Fernhill off West Africa.

 

• U-566 is attacked by a PV-1 Ventura off the Virginia coast. None of the four depth charges explode and the aircraft is shot down by flak with one crewman killed. Five hours later a second PV-1 attacks and is also shot down with all crew killed, though one of its depth charges bounces off the submarine’s deck exploding behind it and inflicting no damage.

 

- While U-566 is investigating a rubber dinghy from one of the aircraft, a third PV-1 and a PBM Mariner arrive. The Germans crash dive but are forced up after a depth charge run by the PV-1. The PBM then makes its run but the depth charges fail to release. By the time the emergency release is tripped, the charges miss. By this time U-566 is firing the AA guns again, hitting the PBM as it makes a strafing run. The U-boat then submerges accidentally with Kapitänleutnant Hans Hornkohl yelling orders to surface, then closing the hatch. He directs the men topside with him to hold on if they can and clings to the periscope. He and four others, including the 1st Watch Officer, will suffer burst eardrums before the submarine comes back up. Once everyone is safely below, U-566 will stay submerged the rest of the day.

 

• Type VIIB submarine U-84 is sunk with all hands south of Bermuda by a Fido homing torpedo dropped by an American PB4Y (Navy B-24).

 

• Following a submarine sighting (U-604) in the South Atlantic, another PB4Y attacks a radar target and damages destroyer USS Moffett which is hunting for the same contact.

 

• U-66 had been damaged by aircraft four days earlier with most of the officers killed or wounded. Today she meets Type XB U-tanker U-117 in the Central Atlantic. The latter’s doctor and a replacement officer are transferred along with provisions. The doctor is able to save the lives of the two wounded officers.

 

- The USN provides ULTRA information to the USS Card task group. The pair of submarines are swarmed by five TBF Avengers and strafed by F4F Wildcats. U-117 is badly damaged by depth charges then slowly dives and is finished off with a Mk-24 Fido homing torpedo with no survivors. U-66 crash dives, evading depth charges and another Fido. The Type IXC boat, which has been at sea since April, will arrive safely at Lorient at the end of the month.

 

U-66 and U-117 trying to crash dive

 

Depth charges explode both sides of U-117 while U-66 guns her engines"

[cardboard_killer]

[80 years ago today] "• Following the attempted torpedo attack on USS Card and sighting of an oil slick the evening before, the escort carrier saturates the area with aircraft from VC-1. U-664 is located in the morning. The 1st Watch Officer (XO) has difficulty closing the hatch so the crash dive is delayed and a depth charge explodes under the submarine’s bow, pointing her up so her motors drive her back to the surface. The crew panics and begins abandoning ship without orders as a second TBF drops depth charges that explode alongside, knocking several of the men into the water as Wildcats strafe the submarine.

 

- Only one 20mm gun is operating and when one gunner attempts to fire on an aircraft, another gunner wrestles him away from the weapon.

 

- Seeing the crew apparently abandoning ship and not firing, the aircraft cease fire, circling and making passes. This allows the Germans to abandon ship in an orderly fashion. Seven crewmen were killed and forty-four are picked up.

 

U-664 strafed by F4F

 

U-664 crew launching rafts

 

Close pass over U-664 as crew is abandoning ship

 

Abandoning U-664

 

POWs from U-664 being served a meal"

[cardboard_killer]

[80 years ago today] "• In the Central Atlantic, USS Card continues rolling up her score, sinking U-525 with all hands by strafing, depth charges and aerial torpedoes from TBF and F4F aircraft.

 

• Southwest of Dakar, a New Zealand Liberator is set on fire by flak from U-468. Despite this, the pilot turns and makes another run dropping six depth charges which straddle and sink the U-boat before the aircraft crashes, killing all aboard. Less than half of the Germans manage to abandon ship, many being injured or poisoned by chlorine gas, and most drown or die from exhaustion or shark attack. Only the commander and six others survive to be picked up by corvette HMS Clarkia on 13 August.

 

- The Liberator pilot, Flying Officer Lloyd Trigg RNZAF, will be awarded the Victoria Cross based solely on the testimony of the seven survivors from the U-boat, including its commander Oberleutnant zur See Klemens Schamong. F/O Trigg pressed home his attack even though his aircraft was on fire and flying extremely low, an example of extraordinary bravery.

 

 

• U-172, U-185, and U-604 are on the surface together in the South Atlantic when a USN PB4Y surprises them, strafing U-172 which kills one crewman and landing depth charges alongside her. With her flak guns out of order, U-172 dives while the Liberator comes around for another pass. U-185 and U-604 hit the aircraft numerous times. Its depth charges straddle U-604 but the PB4Y then crashes, killing all aboard.

 

- Shortly afterward, a PV-1 arrives on scene. U-185 dives but due to damage U-604 remains on the surface. The Ventura sinks her with depth charges with fourteen crew killed and thirty-one survivors. U-185 surfaces and picks them up, later transferring some to U-172 when she also comes up.

 

PB4Y attack on U-604 taken from U-185

 

U-604 during a strafing attack

 

U-604 sinking"

[cardboard_killer]

[80 years ago today] "• U-134 is sunk with all hands off Vigo, Spain, by depth charges from a British Wellington.

 

• Commonwealth aircraft sink German escort vessel SG-14 south of Capri. She was the under construction French minesweeping sloop Matelot Leblanc which was wrecked on the slipway in 1940 and only commissioned in 1943.

 

• U-184 is sunk in the Central Atlantic by TBF and F4F aircraft from USS Core. 29 crewmen are killed with 22 being rescued by flush deck destroyer USS Barker.

 

U-185 smoking from strafing as depth charges hit the water

 

U-185 crippled with deck gun dismounted

 

USS Core officers speaking with Kapitänleutnant August Maus"

[cardboard_killer]

[80 years ago today] "• German submarine U-523 is sunk in the North Atlantic 500 miles west of Vigo by depth charges from the British destroyer Wanderer and corvette Wallflower.

 

• The 40th Escort Group is on ASW duty in the Bay of Biscay when it becomes the target of the first attack by a guided missile. Do-217E aircraft release Henschel-293 radio controlled glide bombs that have rocket engines attached. One Hs-293 strikes sloop HMS Bideford but the warhead fails to detonate. Two near misses inflict light shock damage to sloop HMS Landguard.

 

 

Do-217K with Hs-293"

[cardboard_killer]

[80 years ago today] "• German submarine U-847 is sunk in the Sargasso Sea by air-launched (Fido) torpedoes from aircraft of the escort carrier USS Card. This is Card’s fourth U-boat kill in less than three weeks.

 

• The 40th Support Group is on ASW patrol off the Bay of Biscay when it is attacked by eighteen Do-217s carrying Henschel rocket powered glide bombs. Canadian destroyer Athabascan is damaged and sloop HMS Egret is sunk with the loss of 198 crewmen. Destroyer HMS Grenville is targeted by several Dorniers firing one missile at a time but Commander Roger Hill maneuvers wildly and out-turns each bomb.

 

- Egret's sinking leads to surface anti-U-boat patrols in the Bay of Biscay being suspended, though the Allies are already working on ways to jam the VHF guidance signals.

 

Hs-293 testing

 

He-111H testing Hs-293"

[cardboard_killer]

[80 years ago today] "• The Kriegsmarine orders twenty-five Type XXIII coastal elektro boats. The first won’t be laid down until March.

 

• Merchant Aircraft Carrier Empire MacRae is commissioned.

 

• Type VIIC boat U-346 is working up in the Baltic when she is lost in a diving accident. There are 37 dead with 6 survivors.

 

• After a long withdrawal from the North Atlantic, Dönitz sends several dozen submarines to conduct wolfpack operations, newly armed with the faster G7es (T-5 Zaunkönig) electric acoustic homing torpedo. When B-dienst determines the location and course of convoy ON-202, twenty submarines of pack "Leuthen" are able to intercept.

 

- With the Germans employing radio silence, Bletchley Park is only able to tell that they are out in strength, but not where.

 

- The attack opens with an attack on frigate HMS Lagan, which is struck in the stern by a homing torpedo from U-270. The submarine maneuvers to finish off the frigate with a steam torpedo but is attacked by Canadian destroyer Gatineau, lightly damaged, and driven off. Lagan will be towed to port but is a total loss.  Sunk this day are Canadian flush deck destroyer St Croix and American Liberty ships Frederick Douglass and Theodore Dwight Weld.

 

HMS Lagan

 

HMCS St Croix

 

- Numerous counterattacks are made against ASDIC targets, one of which accounts for U-338 which is lost with all hands.

 

- On the 21st, escorts will thwart all attacks except for a homing torpedo attack that sinks British corvette Polyanthus.

 

HMS Polyanthus

 

- On the 22nd, U-229 will be sunk with all hands by destroyer HMS Keppel. The convoy will take no losses though additional submarines come up.

 

- On the 23rd, U-758 is damaged and has to abort but the reinforced wolfpack sinks frigate HMS Itchen and four merchant ships plus damaging a fifth merchant. ON-202 then comes under air cover with U-422 being damaged by a Halifax at which point Dönitz directs the attack be broken off.

 

HMS Itchen

 

- During the same period, several attacks are made on ONS-18, but the escorts defeat all attacks.

 

- The resumption of wolfpacks is a jolt to the Admiralty, especially the loss of escorts. Western Approaches commander Sir Max Horton blames the Canadians in the escort group but he is criticised for not having any of his escort carriers available to cover the narrowing “air gap”. Countermeasures for acoustic homing torpedoes are already under development."

 

[cardboard_killer]

[80 years ago today] "

Operation Leader

 

• Aircraft carrier USS Ranger, escorted by battleships HMS Duke of York and Anson, cruisers USS Tuscaloosa and HMS Belfast, and twelve American and British destroyers, launches airstrikes against German shipping at Bodø, Norway.

 

Ranger and Tuscaloosa during Operation Leader

 

- SBD Dauntless dive bombers and TBF Avengers armed with bombs escorted by F4F Wildcats sink 23,000 tons of shipping according to German records, including five freighters plus smaller vessels and barges. Fishing vessels and a passenger ferry are not attacked. 10,000 ton tanker Schleswig is damaged and forced to beach herself.

 

- Luftwaffe fighter defenses are completely surprised and do not respond until after the two strikes. AA fire brings down two SBD and one TBF, and one TBF crash lands back aboard the carrier.

 

- As the task force withdraws, three German search aircraft find them. A Ju-88 and He-115 are downed by Ranger’s combat air patrol.

 

- Considered a great and morale boosting success, it is the 10 year old Ranger’s last major operation. She will be relegated to training in 1944 and her airgroup (VF-4, VB-4, and VT-4) will be transferred to USS Bunker Hill. She will be scrapped in 1947.

 

Inbound strike

 

Small convoy Trondheim-317 sighted

 

Bodø raid

 

Malaga misidentified as Saar under attack

 

SBD ditching Bodø

 

SS La Plata being strafed

 

SS Vaagan being bombed

 

He-115 being downed by Ranger F4F"

[cardboard_killer]

[80 years ago today] "• U-371 hits and sinks USS Bristol with a homing torpedo off the coast of Algeria. The American destroyer breaks in half with the loss of 52 crewmen.

 

• U-402 is sunk with all hands in the middle of the North Atlantic by an acoustic homing torpedo dropped by an Avenger from escort carrier USS Card.

 

The splash and beginning of run for the Mark 24 Fido, already turning towards U-402’s propeller noises. Twenty seconds later, it sinks the boat.

 

• Feeling safe at last from German invasion, Portugal cites her 14th Century treaty of Alliance with England (the oldest active alliance in the world) and authorizes the British to use military bases in the Azores for air and naval patrols. The privilege extends to American warships and aircraft. This agreement provides the Americans and British with a vital base to protect mid-Atlantic convoys and greatly reduces the area in which German submarines can effectively operate. The German consulate in the Azores is being closed and all German citizens are being evacuated. On the Portuguese mainland diplomatic links will continue."

[cardboard_killer]

[80 years ago today] "• After U-155 misses the unescorted Norwegian 5,400 ton motor vessel Siranger with two torpedoes, she fires an acoustic homing torpedo that sinks her north of Cururupu, Brazil.

 

• Thirty-two German MTBs make an unsuccessful attack on a coastal convoy off Cromer, sinking only minesweeping trawler HMS William Stephen. Two schnellboote are sunk by escorts.

 

• A force of Typhoons and Whirlwinds attacks the blockade runner Münsterland in Cherbourg harbor. The ship is only damaged while two Whirlwinds are downed by intense AA fire.

 

• U-505 is spotted by British destroyers east of the Azores and endures a severe and lengthy depth-charge attack. Kapitänleutnant Peter Zschech, an experienced U-boat officer, snaps under the strain and shoots himself in the head in the control room. The first watch officer, Paul Meyer, quickly takes command, rides out the rest of the attack and returns the boat to port.

 

• West of Leixoes, Portugal, a Canadian Wellington attacks U-556 [sic], dropping depth charges that blow off the rudder and bend the drive shafts, leaving the submarine unable to dive. The Wellington remains on scene for three hours before it has to depart. At this point the Germans abandon ship in rubber boats and scuttle. The crew will be rescued by a Spanish fishing trawler. They will be allowed to return and most will man new submarine U-1007."

 

 

[cardboard_killer]

[80 years ago today] "• British Whirlwinds and Dutch Mitchells make a raid on Cherbourg, losing one Mitchell with two others damaged. This is caught on camera along with some very sharp images of B-25s in close formation."

 

 

 

 

• Escort carrier USS Block Island responds to an ULTRA revealing that Type XB U-220 is refueling Type VIIC U-256 in the central North Atlantic. A Wildcat/Avenger team surprises the pair on the surface. The Type VIIC crash dives while the U-tanker opens fire with AA guns only to have them suppressed by the FM-1 strafing run. As U-220 begins to dive she is straddled by depth charges and sunk with all hands. The TBF makes another pass, dropping a homing torpedo near the position where U-256 had dived but it misses. The TBF then drops a sonobuoy but it malfunctions."

[cardboard_killer]

[80 years ago today] "• US Navy blimp K-94, en route from Guantánamo Bay, Cuba, to San Juan, Puerto Rico, catches fire and crashes 35 miles north of Borinquen, Puerto Rico with the loss of all eight crew.

 

• In October, U-boats have sunk 11 Allied ships for 61,000 tons in the Atlantic. German and Japanese submarines have sunk 16 Allied ships for 78,800 tons in the Mediterranean Sea, Indian Ocean, and Pacific. 28 U-boats have been sunk.

 

Aircraft deck cargo in an Atlantic convoy

 

• A Canadian Hudson fires rockets at U-537 fifty miles off the coast of Newfoundland. The rockets miss but the submarine rapidly heads away from the coast.

 

• Aircraft from USS Card sink their eighth U-boat in two months. An Avenger/Wildcat team finds U-91 refuelling U-584 in the North Atlantic. After both boats initially repel the aircraft with heavy flak, U-91 crash dives without warning, leaving U-584 still firing. When U-584 also dives, a Fido homing torpedo is dropped astern of where she vanishes and sinks her with all hands.

 

• Wolfpack “Schill” is attacking combined convoy SL-138 / MKS-28 in the Southwestern Approaches. U-262 fires a homing torpedo at a destroyer, and two homing and two pattern looping torpedoes into the convoy itself. The Norwegian 3,000 ton Hallfried is hit. She is carrying a cargo of copper ore and sinks with 31 killed.

 

- Further attacks on the combined convoy are thwarted, with U-306 being sunk by HMS Whitehall and HMS Geranium, and U-732 being sunk by HMS Imperialist and HMS Douglas.

 

• The British 6,600 ton New Columbia is carrying 2,500 tons of cotton, 1,500 tons of copper, 600 tons of beer, 350 tons of palm oil, 350 tons of copra, 100 tons of kernels, 100 tons of rice and mail from the Belgian Congo to Lagos, Nigeria, when she is torpedoed and sunk by U-68 in the Gulf of Guinea.

 

• The Danish resistance sabotages and sinks the German escort (ex-Danish Fishery Protection vessel) Heimdal at Copenhagen."

[cardboard_killer]

[80 years ago today] "• Escort carrier USS Card attempts to interrupt a U-boat refueling but near gale weather conditions don’t allow flight operations. Escorting flush deck destroyer USS Borie picks up U-256 on radar and attacks with guns as the submarine crash dives. The Type VIIC is forced back up by depth charges, but dives again, leaving an oil slick behind. Losing the sonar contact, Borie claims a kill but the U-boat RTBs with damage.

 

- While heading back for USS Card, Borie picks up another radar contact. U-405 dives as the four stacker approaches and Borie lays a depth charge pattern over the sonar contact, once again forcing a VIIC to the surface.

 

- A rare prolonged gun battle ensues for about an hour while as Lieutenant Commander Charles Hutchins (the youngest destroyer skipper in the USN) circles at 25 knots attempting to ram but frustrated by veteran Korvettenkapitän Rolf-Heinrich Hopmann’s shiphandling skill and the submarine’s smaller turning radius. The high waves cause most (or all) of the 4” shots to miss and prevent the Germans from manning the 8.8cm deck gun. The Americans keep U-405 fixed under a search light while the two vessels exchange machine gun and 20mm fire. Eventually, Borie finds an opening and closes the sub’s starboard quarter to ram. At the moment of impact, however, with U-405 turning hard to port, a wave lifts Borie’s bow onto its foredeck, locking the ships together only 25–30 degrees from parallel.

 

- Utilizing every weapon including small arms, Borie’s crew maintains “murderous” fire against U-405 and its crew as the action of the seas works the two ships together, crushing and holing Borie’s port side below the waterline. As Germans continue to come out of the submarine onto the conning tower, they are hit and knocked to the deck or overboard. It is unknown at this point whether they are trying to man weapons or simply get out of the boat.  Hutchins’ account includes describing one "MG-34 gunner" being brought down by a thrown knife and another German attempting to man the deck gun being knocked down by a hurled 4" shell case.

 

- This standoff continues for ten long minutes before the ships separate; then Borie resumes the chase and gunnery attack and launching a single torpedo, which misses. Borie passes alongside the U-boat and fires a salvo from her starboard depth charge projectors. Three charges set to detonate at a depth of 30 feet straddle U-405’s conning tower and explode, bringing her to a halt. Borie fires another torpedo that misses but she scores a decisive 4” gun hit on the submarine’s diesel exhaust. U-405 begins firing flares and crewmembers are seen working rubber rafts. LCDR Hutchins orders fire halted and the American crew begins cheering.

 

- When Borie approaches near enough for faces of the Germans to be visible her sound operator reports a torpedo incoming. Borie goes full ahead with all available speed and comes hard left to evade, running over some of the rubber rafts. None of U-405’s crew survives.

 

- USS Borie’s forward engine room floods completely by dawn, only her starboard engine was operating and power was failing with all fuel needed to operate pumps. Hutchins orders all possible topweight jettisoned; even her gun director. USS Card and destroyers Barry and Goff arrive on-scene. Attempts to tow are fruitless, and Card’s Captain Arnold Isbell orders her abandoned and scuttled.

 

- Torpedoes from the destroyers miss or fail to detonate and 4” gunfire doesn’t sink her, so Avengers from USS Card sink her with bombs or depth charges (accounts vary). 27 crewmen from Borie were lost in the battle or while abandoning ship.

 

- Task Group 21.14 will be the first CVE support group to be awarded the Presidential Unit Citation. A new Allen M. Sumner class destroyer will be named Borie. LCDR Hutchins will be awarded the Navy Cross and given command of destroyer USS Doran.

 

USS Borie sinking.

[cardboard_killer]

[80 years ago today] "• Wolfpack “Tirpitz” attacks convoy HX-264. No ships will be lost from the convoy through British sloops Starling, Woodcock, Kite, and Wild Goose under Captain Johnnie Walker will sink U-226 and U-842 today.

HMS Starling is the top submarine killer of all time. Two days from now she will be targeted by a homing torpedo that misses.

 

• The advance up the Italian boot is slowing as German armor deploys to counter advances by the Eighth Army. The 8th Indian Division reaches Palmoli and British destroyers are giving gunfire support from the Adriatic as British and Canadian troops advance along the coast.

 

• The Kriegsmarine orders 118 Type XXI elektro-boots. It will be six months before the first are laid down. Each hull will be constructed from eight prefabricated sections with final assembly at the fortified Valentin submarine pens which are currently being built at Bremen using around 10,000 concentration camp prisoners and PoWs as forced–labour. The reinforced concrete roof will be 15 feet thick.

Inside Valentin U-boat bunker

 

Valentin is now a museum and memorial to the forced laborers who built it - and those worked to death doing so

 

- On paper, this would result in a six month construction time per vessel, but the elektro-boots will be plagued with severe quality problems that require extensive post-production work to fix. As a result, of 118 Type XXIs completed, only four will be fit for combat before the war ends. Two will go on patrol but achieve no sinkings.

 

Type XXI submarines used modular construction at inland factories for assembly at the launch site

 

Type XXI under assembly at wars end"

 

[Heliopause]

Dec 26th
Dutch submarine O 15 under command of Schouwenaar is operating in Skudenessfjord, Norway. It started its patrol on the 14th out of Lerwick, Scotland. An Norwegian officer is on board as a navigator for these waters. On the 17th Schouwenaar had observed an enemy freighter around the time he was about to leave the fjord (during hours of darkness O 15 would be at open sea), the freighter moving away from the submarine and an attack was not excecuted. The next five days weather conditions kept O 15 at open sea. Yesterday saw O 15 back in the fjord again where it observed enemy trawlers, small coastal vessels and around 15:30 hours an freighter. No attack had been carried out however. The smaller vessels being judged to small to give away O 15's presence. The distance to the freighter had proved to great.
Today it spots six enemy ships (two groups of three) around noon. Three torpedoes are fired on the second group with O 15 then quickly diving to 30 meters depth. Three explosions are registered. Returning to periscope depth later Schouwenaar then observes one of the escorting vessels motionless in the water. Another torpedo is launched but a bit to early due to a mechanical failure and the torpedo misses. Later an explosion is heard presumable as it hits the edge of the fjord. O 15 meanwhile on its way out of the fjord and arriving back at Lerwick on the 28th.

[cardboard_killer]

[80 years ago today] "• Alfred Hitchcock’s war drama film "Lifeboat" opens at the Astor Theater in New York City. The film stars Tallulah Bankhead, William Bendix, and Walter Slezak. The plot involves several survivors of a torpedoed ship in the same lifeboat with one of the men who sank it.

 

- The film is nominated for three Academy Awards including Best Director for Hitchcock but wins none.

 

• Dr Ulrich Abel, the 1st Watch Officer (XO) of U-154, accuses his skipper, Oskar-Heinz Kusch, of defeatism and sedition after Kusch gives him a performance appraisal describing Abel as an inflexible, rigid and one-sided officer of average talent. Evidence against him includes moving Hitler’s portrait to a less conspicuous location in the wardroom with a comment about idolotry, talking about how the war is most likely being lost, questioning Hitler’s sanity, and that Kusch has listened to the BBC while at sea.

 

- Kusch is very popular with his enlisted crewmen but at a court-martial his officers confirm Abel’s assertions. Several U-boat commanders come forward to defend Kusch and his war record. Other U-boat officers appeal to Dönitz to support their comrade but the Großadmiral remains silent during the proceedings and will not even speak with Kusch.

 

Oberleutnant zur See Oskar-Heinz Kusch

 

- Kusch is found guilty of the charges as well as having “liberal tendencies” and sentenced to death. He will be executed by firing squad on 12 May, 1944.

 

- Dr Abel, by all accounts a committed Nazi, will be given command of U-193 which will be sunk with all hands on his first patrol in April, 1944. U-154 will be given to an uninvolved officer and lost with all hands in July, 1944.

 

- While a Konteradmiral in the post-war Bundesmarine, Erich Topp will attempt to rehabilitate Kusch but receive bitter opposition from other former U-boat officers including Karl-Friedrich Merten and Hans Rösing.

 

- Kusch’s conviction will finally be overturned in 1996 and a street in Kiel named for him, not far from where he had been executed."

Edited January 12, 2024 by cardboard_killer

[cardboard_killer]

[80 years ago today] "

• The US Navy had seen little potential in the helicopter due to its short range, fragility, and 185hp Warner engine currently not capable of lifting a heavy payload, and relegated development to the US Coast Guard. The US Army is interested for casualty retrieval, the Coast Guard for search and rescue, and the Royal Navy for potential convoy use. Coast Guard pilots Frank Erickson and Stewart Graham are delivering two Sikorsky YR-4 helicopters with spare parts and maintenance equipment to the UK aboard the British grain carrier Daghestan in convoy HX-274, and will train British pilots on them.  

 

- Directed to evaluate potential for ASW operations, Graham today makes the first at-sea shipboard take-off by a powered rotary winged aircraft. He flies around the convoy for thirty minutes and returns safely to the pitching deck. LCDR Erickson has already recommended immediate development of a “dipping sonar”.

 

Graham taking off from MV Daghestan in what the British will call the Hoverfly"

[cardboard_killer]

[80 years ago yesterday] "• There are 80 U-boats at sea on patrol this date, compared to 120 in 1943, and 64 in 1942.

 

• Dutch merchant aircraft carrier Gadila enters service. She is the first of nine Royal Dutch Shell tankers converted to operate Dutch Swordfish biplanes in support of convoys.

 

Swordfish landing on MV Gadila

 

• Submarine HMS Graph (ex U-570) is decommissioned due to defects with her engines and batteries and a lack of spare parts. She will serve briefly as a target to determine depth charge damage at varying distances, and end up on the Scottish coast when a tow line breaks in gale conditions.

 

• Coastal Command aircraft sink German ASW trawler UJ-1702 and cripple cargo vessel Valencia off Stadlandet, Norway. The latter is driven ashore to keep from sinking and is a total loss."

[cardboard_killer]

[80 years ago today] "• In the early morning, the inbound U-763 is attacked by a British Liberator in the Bay of Biscay. The flak crews are ready since the Naxos had detected the strengthening radar signals. AA fire damages the bomber’s tail and the B-24 makes subsequent attacks on an Aphrodite radar decoy.

 

- Twenty hours after that, a British Halifax attacks U-763 but repeated hits cause it to crash, killing all aboard.

 

- An hour later a British Wellington attacks U-763, but both wings, the tail, and fuselage are hit and the aircraft is forced to RTB after dropping its depth charges wide.  Kapitänleutnant Ernst Cordes will be awarded the Iron Cross and the German Cross in Gold for his three patrols in which he sinks one steamer.

 

U-boat flak crew"

[cardboard_killer]

[80 years ago today] "• The British escort carrier Chaser joins the escort of the Arctic convoy JW-57 bound for the Kola Inlet in the Soviet Union. It is the first time an aircraft carrier has escorted an Arctic convoy since February 1943. By the time Chaser returns to Scapa Flow in March after escorting returning convoy RA-57, her aircraft will have sunk or assisted in the sinking of three German submarines, with only one merchant ship and one escort lost."

 

 

 

[cardboard_killer]

[80 years ago today] "• During the attempt to pass the Straits of Gibraltar, U-761 is detected by a US Navy PBY using Magnetic Anomaly Detection (MAD) gear. Attacks are made by two PBYs, a Navy PV-1, and an RAF Catalina, damaging the boat and bringing it to the surface, after which it dives again.

 

- British destroyers Anthony and Wishart arrive on scene and bring the submarine up again, after which the Germans abandon ship. U-761 is the first U-boat destroyed through the employment of MAD equipment.

 

PBY making MAD passes and dropping smoke floats on U-761

 

HMS Wishart and HMS Anthony making attacks

 

Germans abandon ship

 

HMS Wishart rescues U-761 survivors"

[cardboard_killer]

[80 Years and three days ago] "• A Canadian Liberator locates U-737 on radar west of the Lofoten Islands, and despite several AA hits causing a fire, drops six depth charges that damage the submarine so badly that it has to abort to Narvik. The Liberator has lost two engines and has wounded aboard. It is able to return to Scotland where the plane is written off. The pilot will be awarded the DSO and the navigator the DFC for their actions.

 

• German vorpostenboot V-1304 Eisenach is sunk by British MTBs off IJmuiden.

 

• U-744 is sunk in the North Atlantic by depth charges from Canadian frigate St Catherines, corvettes Fennel and Chilliwack, and destroyers Gatineau and Chaudiere.

 

• Escort carrier HMS Chaser, escorting Arctic convoy RA-57, sinks her third U-boat in three days when one of her Swordfish penetrates the pressure hull of U-973 with rocket fire, sinking the submarine with all hands.

 

Swordfish take-off from HMS Chaser."

[cardboard_killer]

[80 years ago today] "• U-625 is sunk west of Ireland by depth charges from a Canadian Sunderland aircraft. Although some of the crew are seen and photographed abandoning ship, surface vessels are unable to find any survivors.

 

U-625 sinking

 

• U-845 is sunk in the Southwest Approaches by Canadian destroyer St. Laurent, Canadian corvette Owen Sound, Canadian frigate Swansea, and British destroyer Forester. Ten Germans are killed with 45 being captured.

 

• U-575 attacks combined convoy SL-150/MKS-41 and sinks British corvette Asphodel with a homing torpedo. There are only five survivors out of a crew of 97. After the attack the U-boat is hunted by escorts for 18 hours but manages to escape.

 

• Japanese submarine I-29 meets with German destroyers Z-23 and ZH-1 (former Dutch Gerard Callenburgh) and torpedo boats T-27 and T-29 in the Bay of Biscay. Ju-88C aircraft are providing cover during the run in to Lorient. Allied ULTRA information results on four Mosquito fighter bombers and two “Tsetse” Mosquitos with 57mm cannon attacking. The British are unable to damage the Japanese submarine but take no losses, shooting down one Ju-88. At dusk, Beaufighter and Liberator aircraft attack but all bombs miss and I-29 arrives safely, entering one of the massive Keroman U-bunkers.

 

 

 

 

I-29 arriving.

 

- The Japanese are treated to a lavish dinner by the U-boatmen. During her stay, the four 25mm AA guns will be replaced by a German 37mm and a quadruple 20mm mount.

 

• U-343 is sunk with all hands in the Mediterranean south of Sardinia by minesweeping trawler HMS Mull.

 

• American Liberty ship William B. Woods is carrying 407 US Army personnel plus 2,115 tons of general cargo, ammunition and army vehicles from Sicily to Naples, escorted only by Italian torpedo boat Aretusa, when she is hit on the port side by an acoustic homing torpedo from U-952 about 47 miles northeast of Palermo. There are insufficient lifeboats and rafts for all the crew and passengers. No crew are lost, though 52 soldiers drown before Aretusa can rescue them all. The official report blames the Italians for the losses.

 

• U-450 is sunk in the Mediterranean south of Ostia by British escort destroyers Blankney, Blencathra, Brecon, and Exmoor and the American destroyer Madison. All 45 crewmen are captured.

 

• Soviet submarine S-54 is declared overdue. She was most likely lost to a mine off Norway."

[cardboard_killer]

[80 years ago today] "• German submarine U-288 is sunk with all hands by Swordfish and Avenger aircraft from British escort carriers Activity and Tracker, part of the escort for arctic convoy JW-58. One Swordfish is shot down during the attacks.

 

U-288 being strafed during an Avenger’s attack run.

 

- Four Soviet destroyers of the local escort force meets the convoy today and it will enter the Kola Inlet tomorrow. In a solid defeat for the Kriegsmarine, U-boats made eighteen attacks on JW-58, inflicting no losses on the convoy while three U-boats were sunk.

 

Operation Tungsten

 

• In two waves, forty-one Fairey Barracuda dive bombers make strikes on German battleship Tirpitz in the Kåfjord. They are escorted by forty-one Wildcat, Hellcat, and Corsair fighters. This is the first combat mission of the Corsair from a carrier.

 

 

{The newsreel incorrectly states that Seafires escort the strike. They were retained for CAP. It also identifies Corsairs as Barracudas at one point}

 

- The Allied strike force consists of battleships Duke of York and Anson, carriers Furious and Victorious, escort carriers Searcher, Emperor, Pursuer, and Fencer, three light cruisers, and fifteen destroyers under Admiral Sir Bruce Fraser. The first wave arrives as Tirpitz is weighing anchor to conduct post repair trials, and the sea-detail is hurriedly changed to battlestations.

 

- Four Barracudas are shot down, but fifteen bombs hit the battleship with several near misses. 122 sailors are killed and 316 are wounded; many of them are anti-aircraft gunners who are hit by machine-gun fire from the British fighters. While two bombs that explode in the water near Tirpitz open holes in her hull and cause flooding, none of the 15 bombs that strike the battleship penetrate her main deck armor belt. This may be due to Barracuda pilots dropping their bombs below the specified minimum altitude of 3,000 feet in an attempt improve their chances of hitting Tirpitz. The shorter than optimum flight times may have resulted in the bombs which struck the battleship lacking the necessary velocity to penetrate her deck armor.

 

- Großadmiral Dönitz will direct that Tirpitz be repaired again, if for no other reason than to tie down Allied naval assets. She will be operational again in July.

 

Fairey Barracudas

 

The shore based smoke generators are unable to screen Tirpitz in time

 

Barracudas diving on Tirpitz

 

Tirpitz under attack 03 April 1944

 

Home Fleet carriers during Tungsten"

[cardboard_killer]

[80 years ago today] "• German submarine U-515 is attacked and damaged by rocket and machine gun fire from TBMs and FM-2s from escort carrier USS Guadalcanal, then sunk by depth charges and gunfire from destroyer escorts Pillsbury, Pope, Flaherty, and Chatelain off Madeira Island. 16 crewmen are killed with 44 captured.

 

- Over an 18 month period under Kapitänleutnant Werner Henke, who is captured, the Type IXC conducted seven war patrols and sank 25 ships for 159,000 tons. Henke will be killed in June trying to escape the interrogation center at Fort Hunt, Virginia.

 

USS Chatelain and U-515

 

Fire on U-515

 

U-515 final dive"

[Heliopause]

18th april
The Bristol - Lisbon flights:
On the 10th pilots Verhoeven and Parmentier flew the 1000th KLM/BOAC flight towards Lisbon. On the 18th the return flight was made.
A lunch was held at Bristol airfield and telegramms received expressing appreciation.
As Verhoeven explained: "this milestone meant an average of five flights v.v. per week sinds July 1940 despite the many delays during the winterseasons (weatherconditions). Almost 11000 passengers had been transported, among them members of state, diplomats, refugees, evacuated children and escaped P.O.W.'s. 
In the same period 120 flights where also made Lisbon - Gibraltar v.v."

 

Groupphoto to commemorate the occasion with KLM personell in front of DC-3 "Buizerd".

[cardboard_killer]

[80 years ago today] "• German steam trawler Voorbode is in Bergen with a cargo of explosives when she catches fire and explodes. The anchor will be found on a mountain three kilometres away. Norwegian freighters Rogaland and Krosdøl are sunk and several other vessels damaged. 160 people are killed and 4,800 injured, with 5,000 rendered homeless.

 

Bergen immediately after the explosion

 

• German Ju-88 and He-111 torpedo planes, on the heels of an unsuccessful night attack by submarine U-969, attack 87-ship convoy UGS-38 off the coast of Algeria in three waves.

 

- British 7,900 ton refrigerated cargo ship Royal Star is torpedoed and sunk, with the loss of one crewman.

 

- American Liberty ship Paul Hamilton is carrying 7,000 tons of ammunition and 504 ground crewmen of the USAAF 485th Bombardment Group to Italy when she is hit, disintegrating with no survivors.

 

- American Liberty ship Stephen F. Austin and British Liberty ship Samite are damaged but will reach Algiers.

 

- Coast Guard destroyer escort Lowe, Treasury class cutter Duane, and Dutch antiaircraft cruiser Van Heemskerk narrowly escape hits by radical maneuvering. Destroyer USS Lansdale is hit starboard side forward and nearly split in two. Within fifteen minutes she has a 45° list and is abandoned. 49 of her crew are lost and 232 survivors (76 wounded) are rescued by the Coast Guard destroyer escorts Menges and Newell.

 

- At least three confirmed German aircraft are shot down, with the crew of one of them being rescued.

 

- The families of those lost aboard the Paul Hamilton are told only that they are “missing in action”. The details of the loss will not be declassified for fifty years.

 

SS Paul Hamilton blowing up

 

Coast Guardsmen aboard Menges clean oil from USS Lansdale survivor"

[cardboard_killer]

[80 years ago today] "• Carrier HMS Furious and escort carriers HMS Searcher and HMS Emperor are conducting an antishipping sweep along the Norwegian coast. Two days earlier they had sunk the German ore carrier Almora and tanker Saarburg for the loss of two aircraft. Today, Hellcats and Wildcats are escorting a Barracuda strike group when attacked by a mixed group of Bf-109 and Fw-190 fighters. Two Grummans, two Messerschmitts, and one Focke-Wulf are shot down.

 

Barracuda taking off from HMS Furious, 1944"

[cardboard_killer]

[80 years ago today] "• Canadian frigate Thetford Mines is commissioned.

 

• Type IXD2 U-cruiser U-876 is commissioned. She will not make any war patrols, being used only for training. 

 

• U-675 is sunk with all hands off Norway by a British Sunderland.

 

• U-921 shoots down a Canadian Sunderland aircraft off Norway. A second RCAF Sunderland arrives on the scene and damages the U-boat. Three men are wounded including the skipper, Wolfgang Leu. Leu gets two wounded watchstanders below while ordering a crash dive, and seals the hatch while still topside. He will receive a posthumous Iron Cross, 2nd Class for sacrificing himself to save the boat. USS Growler’s skipper, Howard W. Gilmore, received a posthumous Medal of Honor for the same act of heroism in the Pacific in 1943.

 

• American submarine tender Howard W. Gilmore is commissioned.

 

• U-736 shoots down a British Wellington in the Bay of Biscay, then is badly damaged by a British Liberator."

[cardboard_killer]

[80 years ago today] "• After having to abort a raid on Tirpitz due to weather, HMS Furious and HMS Victorious are making a sweep off Norway. Their Barracudas sink German Sperrbrecher 181 and freighter Hans Leonhardt off Stadlandet.

 

Furious Barracudas attacking German shipping off Norway during an earlier sweep

 

• US Navy blimps K-123 and K-130 arrive at Port Lyautey, French Morocco to complete the first transatlantic flight by non-rigid airships. Within the month blimp ASW patrols will be conducted from Gibraltar to the Cape Verde Islands"

[cardboard_killer]

[80 years ago today] "• USN hunter-killer Task Group 22.3, consisting of escort carrier Guadalcanal and destroyer escorts Pillsbury, Pope, Flaherty, Chatelain, and Jenks, is between the Cape Verde and Canary Islands when Chatelain picks up a sonar contact only 800 yards away. The escorts move in as the carrier turns away, launching an FM-2 Wildcat fighter to join another FM-2 and a TBF that are already up. Chatelain makes a snap shot with hedgehogs that miss, then lines up for a depth charge attack. One of the Wildcats can see the submarine in the clear water and fires its machine guns to mark the location as Chatelain makes her run.

 

- The depth charges knock U-505 around so badly that Oberleutnant zur See Harald Lange believes her to be fatally damaged. Less than seven minutes after the attack, the submarine breaks surface and the crew begins abandoning ship without going through scuttling procedures, though some valves are opened.

 

- While U-505 is moving in a slow circle on motors, Chatelain believes her to be attempting a torpedo shot and opens fire with guns. She also launches a torpedo that misses. Captain Daniel Gallery aboard Guadalcanal radios orders to capture the submarine if possible.

 

- USS Pillsbury races alongside while lowering a boat, and is damaged in a collision with the out of control U-boat. LTJG Albert David and his team get aboard and plunge inside the submarine, which is apparently sinking. They pass up all of the equipment they can, including the Enigma machine, then secure the submarine and stop the flooding. Guadalcanal’s chief engineer later gets aboard and pumps out the water, bringing the submarine to an even keel. Captain Gallery then begins towing his prize to Dakar which is the nearest port.

 

- On receiving the report of the capture, Admiral King is concerned as he fears that the Germans will change their codes on the eve of Operation Overlord if they find out. He orders TG 22.3 to proceed instead for Bermuda and to make no mention over radio of the capture. Fleet tug USS Abenaki is dispatched to take over the tow.

 

- One German was killed by gunfire with three wounded, including Lange. To preserve the secret of the capture, the crew will be held separately from other POWs and not allowed access to the Red Cross or to mail. The capture of U-505 will not be announced until after the surrender of Germany, at which point the existence of the survivors is revealed.

 

- The cipher materials captured on U-505 (referred to as USS Nemo in message traffic) includes the special "coordinate" code, the regular and officer Enigma settings for June 1944, the current short weather codebook, the short signal codebook, and bigram tables due to come into effect in July and August respectively. The boat’s two remaining G7es (Zaunkönig T-5) acoustic homing torpedoes are of great interest, being thoroughly analyzed and tested, giving invaluable information for countermeasures.

 

 

- For leading the boarding party, LTJG Albert David receives the Medal of Honor, the only time it is awarded to an Atlantic Fleet sailor in World War II. Torpedoman's Mate Third Class Arthur Knispel and Radioman Second Class Stanley Wdowiak, the first two to follow David into the submarine, receive the Navy Cross. Seaman First Class Earnest James Beaver, also of the boarding party, receives the Silver Star. Captain Gallery receives the Navy Distinguished Service Medal.

 

- The Task Group is awarded the Presidential Unit Citation for the first boarding capture of an enemy vessel since the War of 1812.

 

- After the war, the Navy decides to expend U-505 as a gunnery target. Gallery, then a Rear Admiral, intervenes and arranges to have the sub donated to the Chicago Museum of Science and Industry. She had been sitting neglected and stripped of equipment for years and the Museum contacts the German builders for specifications to manufacture replacement parts. Instead, Deutsche Werft makes the requested parts for the Museum at no charge. U-505 will be dedicated in 1954, declared a National Historic Landmark in 1989, and moved indoors to prevent deterioration in 2004.

 

U-505 captured before being pumped out

 

U-505 alongside USS Guadalcanal

 

Gaudalcanal launching aircraft while towing U-505

 

Prisoners exercising aboard USS Guadalcanal

 

U-505 today"

[Heliopause]

June 26th (one source mentions the 28th)
Fairy Swordfish LS157 crashes on the deck of MV Macoma when landing in a strong wind following a submarine search. The machine is part of `O' Flight 860 Squadron, Fleet Air Arm. The Squadron being manned by the Royal Netherlands Navy. `O' Flight (three machines) had embarked on Dutch Merchant Aircraft Carrier (MAC) MV Macoma on June 2nd. Macoma, an oil tanker, was converted for MAC duties from late 1943 to April of 1944. 

 

On the same day, two days out from Halifax on a return trip, Swordfish NF127 from `S' Flight on Dutch MAC ship Gadila ditches during an anti-submarine search, its crew being picked up.

 

Picture showing Swordfish LS157. The orange triangle denoting its use by Dutch crews.

 

Formation of "Stringbags". O3 is the third machine of "O" flight.

[cardboard_killer]

[80 years ago today] " • Due to Allied deception operations, there is a patrol line of U-boats off Norway to repel Allied landings.

 

• U-347 is sunk with all hands west of Narvik by a British Liberator aircraft.

 

• U-361 is sunk with all hands west of Bodø by a British Catalina aircraft.

 

• U-994 is returning to Bergen when she is attacked and damaged by a Norwegian Mosquito with five wounded.

 

• British carriers Formidable, Indefatigable and Furious, escorted by battleship Duke of York, four cruisers, and sixteen destroyers, launch a raid against German battleship Tirpitz in the Kåfjord, Norway.

 

- The raid is the combat debut of the Fairey Firefly fighter. The strike consists of 44 Barracuda dive bombers escorted by 18 Corsairs, 20 Hellcats, and 12 Fireflies.

 

- The British strike force is detected by German radar 43 miles out. Protective smoke generators are engaged and they quickly cover the vessel. The British spend 25 minutes attempting to pinpoint the Tirpitz, frustrated by shore base AA guns. The battleship herself fires at the aircraft and several are able to target her gun flashes. The Barracudas score seven near-misses that do no damage while the fighters attack AA sites and several small vessels. Patrol vessel VP-6307 is a total loss. One Corsair is shot down and one Barracuda is forced to ditch next to Indefatigable.

 

Firefly over HMS Indefatigable in the Indo-Pacific later in the war

 

This image from an earlier raid shows the smoke generators not obscuring Tirpitz in time."

[cardboard_killer]

[80 years ago today] "• In the fourth and final phase of Operation Goodwood, 26 Barracuda dive bombers and thirty fighters from HMS Formidable and HMS Indefatigable attack German battleship Tirpitz.

 

- The Germans have sufficient warning and the pilots find the battleship completely obscured by smoke. They bomb blindly and although they think they score two hits in fact they have none. One Firefly and one Corsair are lost and the carrier force withdraws to cover convoy RA-59A briefly before returning to Scapa Flow.

 

British carrier off Norway during Operation Goodwood

 

Barracudas with bombs during Goodwood

 

Tirpitz in Kåfjord photographed by a photo-recce Mosquito on 12 July 1944"

[cardboard_killer]

[80 years ago today] "• U-1228 is outbound for the Indo-Pacific when she is attacked by a British Liberator in the Norwegian Sea. Damage is slight and the boat continues until the Germans determine that the schnorkel has been damaged, causing carbon monoxide poisoning of the crew with one fatality. The U-boat aborts her patrol and RTBs for repairs.

 

• U-275 is attacked by several Mosquito aircraft off Utvær, Norway. She crash dives but hits bottom at thirty feet. Six depth charges fall close and the Mosquitos claim several 6 pounder hits. The U-boat limps to Bergen and will be under repair until December.

 

• An Allied bomber raid on Wesermünde sinks Swedish cargo-liner Ångermanland and German vorpostenboot V 601 Dr. Heinrich Wiegand.

 

• U-925 has departed Norway on her first patrol. The Type VIIC is never heard from again and the reason for her loss is undetermined."

[cardboard_killer]

[80 years ago today] "• Minelayer/u-tanker submarine U-219 is west-south-west of the Cape Verde Islands bound for the Indo-Pacific when she is attacked five times by aircraft from escort carrier USS Tripoli, which had been guided to her by ULTRA information. The big Type XB shoots down one Avenger, killing all three crewmen, and escapes, reaching Jakarta in December. This is the last carrier aircraft lost to a U-boat.

 

U-219 at right next to a smaller Type IX submarine.

 

• U-668 has to leave wolfpack “Zorn”, which is waiting for convoy JW-60 in the Barents Sea, because the 2nd Watch Officer is suffering from appendicitis.

 

• U-307 lands a meteorological team on Spitsbergen (now known as Svalbard). They set up weather station Haudegen, which will not formally surrender until September, 1945."