U-862 off the coast of Australia and New Zealand
IXD2 submarine repels aircraft attack
The article is devoted to one of the little-known episodes of the war at sea during the Second World War — the combat campaign of the German submarine U-862 to the shores of Australia and New Zealand. It was the only U-boat operating in this region. The technical characteristics of the boat and its armament are also described.
Most of us think that German submarines only attacked the Allied convoys heading to Murmansk and Arkhangelsk with all their might. In fact, for them, this was a minor front - after all, the Battle of the Atlantic was underway.
Soon after the start of the new World War, the German naval leadership returned to the idea that had been born during the First World War: a blockade of the British Isles, which were largely dependent on seaborne supplies of raw materials and food.
In the first stage of submarine warfare, U-boats operated mainly on the western approaches to the shores of Britain, and later also on the communications in the North and Central Atlantic. After the entry of the USA into the war, for some time one of the main areas of action became the waters off the east coast of North America, the Gulf of Mexico and the Caribbean Sea.
Introduction of a convoy system, active anti-submarine operations aviation, both shore-based and carrier-based; the introduction of increasingly sophisticated hydroacoustic, radar, and radio direction-finding systems, and the breaking of German codes by May 1943 had led to a completely unacceptable level of losses among German submarines. This became one of the main reasons for the transfer of a significant portion of U-boats to new areas of operation. This was also facilitated by increasingly persistent requests for assistance from Japan, which had not achieved significant success in the submarine war in the Indian and Pacific Oceans.
Grand Admiral Karl Dönitz wrote about this period:
"I came to the conclusion that we were faced with the bitter necessity of continuing the fight. The submarine forces could not leave the war alone and see the burden they had borne so far fall with all its weight on the rest of the German Wehrmacht and on the German civilian population." [1, p. 426]
"I came to the conclusion that we were faced with the bitter necessity of continuing the fight. The submarine forces could not leave the war alone and see the burden they had borne so far fall with all its weight on the rest of the German Wehrmacht and on the German civilian population." [1, p. 426]
As early as October 1942, German submarines first appeared off the east coast of South Africa in the waters of the Indian Ocean. And on July 15, 1943, the first German submarine U-511 (code name "Marco Polo I") type IXC entered Penang, which became the base of Japanese submarines in occupied Southeast Asia on January 20, 1942. This boat, at the request of Japan, was transferred to it both for study and possible copying, and as partial payment for the Japanese supplies of rubber, tin and other raw materials.
On August 23, 1943, U-178 of the IXD2 type entered Penang. Large submarines of the IXD2 type (28 units were built) were built for cruising in remote areas of the World Ocean. A serious advantage of these boats was their enormous surface cruising range. With a normal fuel supply (442 tons) and a speed of 12 knots, it was 23 nautical miles, and at 700 knots and taking on additional fuel in some of the ballast tanks, it reached 9 miles. However, the IXD32 had a serious drawback - a relatively long diving time, which increased their vulnerability to attacks by enemy anti-submarine forces, primarily aviation.
General arrangement of the boat type IXD2
1 -Bow torpedo tube breakwaters
2 - Bow horizontal rudders
3 - Bow torpedo tubes
4 - Trim tank
5 - Forward torpedo compartment
6 — Bow torpedo loading hatch
7 — Torpedo replacement tank
8 - Pantry
9 — Headroom (left side)
10 - Refrigerated food pantry
11 — Petty officers' wardroom
12 — Battery compartment
13 — Galley
14 - Artillery cellar
15 — Officers' mess room
16 — Hydroacoustic cabin
17 - 105 mm gun
18 — Commander's cabin (port side)
19 — Radio room (starboard side)
20 — Combat cabin
21 - Snorkel mast
22 - Central Post
23 - Anti-aircraft periscope
24 - Commander's periscope
25 — Keel ballast
26 - 20 mm guns
27 - Containers for Bachstelze
28 — Diesel generators
29 - 37 mm gun
30 - Diesel engines
31 - Diesel compartment
32 - Durable body
33 — Electric motor compartment
34 - Lightweight body
35 — Aft torpedo loading hatch
36 — Headroom (starboard side)
37 - Aft torpedo compartment
38 - Aft torpedo tubes
39 — Stern horizontal rudders
40 — Breakwaters of aft torpedo tubes
Main performance characteristics of IXD2 type submarines
Surface/submerged displacement, t — 1616/1804
Maximum length, m - 87,6
Width, m — 7,5
Draft, m — 5,4
Surface/underwater speed - 19,2/6,9
Underwater cruising range at 4 knots, miles - 60
Operating immersion depth, m — 200
Torpedo armament:
4 bow and 2 stern 533 mm TA
26 torpedoes or 72 mines
Artillery weapons:
1×105mm (SK C/32) with 150 rounds of ammunition
1×37mm (Flak M42), 2575 rounds
2×2 — 20mm (C/30), 8100 rounds
Crew (including officers), persons — 57-64 (4-7)
The crew of U-862 consisted of 7 officers (commander, three watch officers, two engineers and a doctor) and 57 sergeants, non-commissioned officers and sailors.
The propulsion system is two-shaft. Each shaft was powered by a nine-cylinder, four-stroke turbocharged diesel engine from MAN, type M9V40/46, with a capacity of 2200 hp at 470 rpm, and a two-anchor propulsion electric motor from Siemens-Schuckert, type 2 GU 345/34, with a capacity of 500 hp in engine mode and 710 hp in generator mode. The propellers were three-bladed, with a diameter of 1,85 m.
In the diesel compartment
In addition, two autonomous diesel generators with four-stroke six-cylinder diesel engines from MWM type RS34.5S with a capacity of 500 hp each could be used to charge the batteries.
The 44MAL740 battery consisted of two groups with 62 elements each. The voltage could be adjusted within the range of 110-170 and 220-340 V. The battery life was 15-21 months.
The snorkel is of the retractable type and has a hydraulic drive. The snorkel head has a rubber anti-radar coating.
Torpedo armament of German submarines
[PG - steam-gas; T - torpedo battery; E - electric motor; PASSN - passive acoustic homing system
Performance characteristics of artillery weapons of U-862
105mm gun 10.5 cm SK C/32
37 mm gun 3.7 cm Flak M42U
Anti-aircraft armament arrangement: 37mm in the foreground, two twin 20mm gun mounts in the background
According to the agreements reached between the authorities of Japan, Germany and Italy, ships and vessels of the European Axis countries could use Japanese bases in Penang, Singapore, Jakarta and Surabaya from the spring of 1943.
Based on this, the plan for Operation Monsun (Monsoon) was drawn up under Dönitz's leadership. The 11 combat boats of the first group, supported by a tanker submarine (only two of the group's boats were of the IXD2 type, the others required bunkering during the passage), were to leave their bases in mid-June in order to reach the combat area in the Indian Ocean in September, at the end of the monsoon season. During this season (June–September), stormy weather and heavy rains greatly hampered the submarines' operations.
In total, 28 U-boats, including transports, were sent to the Indian Ocean from March 1943, 16 to April 1945, 44. Only some of them managed to get there, while the rest were sunk during the passage or returned for various reasons. For example, out of 11 boats of the first group, only five managed to round the Cape of Good Hope and join Gruppe Monsun (Monsun Group). In total, 29 boats were sunk, 1 boat returned during the passage, 1 was handed over to Japan in Penang, 6 were captured by the Japanese after Germany's capitulation, two surrendered to the Allies after Germany's capitulation, and only five managed to return to their European bases. Monsun's U-boats sank a total of 33 ships with a displacement of 191 tons. In addition, the boats also performed transport tasks, delivering raw materials, materials and equipment necessary for Japan, and molybdenum, tungsten, tin, opium and quinine to Germany.
German submarines sunk in the Indian Ocean or on voyages there and back in 1943–1945
One such boat was the IXD862 type U-2, which became famous for its epic voyage to the shores of Australia and New Zealand.
U-862 was built at the AG Weser shipyard in Bremen and was handed over the fleet October 7, 1943. Its first and only commander was Captain Lieutenant Heinrich Timm (1910-1974), from July 5, 1944 - Captain 3rd rank (Korvettenkapitän).
The crew of U-862 during the submarine's commissioning ceremony
By this time, H. Timm already had serious sea and combat experience. Heinrich was born into the family of a merchant marine captain and, having reached the age of 18, followed in his footsteps. On board German "merchants" he visited many corners of the World Ocean, including Southeast Asia, where he had to fight a decade and a half later.
In 1933, the young sailor decided to link his fate with the Kriegsmarine, where there was an acute shortage of officers. After studying at the naval school in Mürwik and completing various practical courses, he received his first officer rank in 1935.
Then he served as a watch officer on destroyers and minesweepers, and after the start of World War II and the assignment of the rank of Oberleutnant, he became the commander of the minesweeper "M-7". And here his first combat success and first award awaited him.
On January 9, 1940, the crew of the M-7 discovered and attacked the British submarine Starfish in Heligoland Bay. After a long pursuit, the damaged Englishman was forced to surface and raise a white flag. Thanks to the quick and decisive actions of H. Timm, the entire crew of the sinking British submarine was saved.
For this victory, Timm was awarded the Iron Cross, Second Class, and promoted to Captain Lieutenant. In May 1940, he was awarded the Iron Cross, First Class, for his heroism during the Norwegian Campaign.
In March 1941, Timm submitted his application for service on U-boats. After completing a training course in the training flotilla, he was appointed commander of the U-251 Type VIIC at the end of September.
As commander of U-251, he made 9 combat missions to the Arctic, operating against convoys heading to northern ports of the USSR, including the well-known PQ-17, and sank two ships. During Operation Wunderland, he destroyed a Soviet weather station on Uedineniya Island in the Novaya Zemlya archipelago with artillery fire.
In June 1943, U-251 was repaired and its crew was sent to accept the new submarine U-862. The submarine, which entered service from October 7, 1943 to April 30, 1944, was part of the 4th training flotilla, and mechanisms were tested and personnel were trained at the southern Baltic training grounds. In May, the submarine was equipped with a snorkel - a device for operating diesel engines at periscope depth.
It should be noted that U-862 received the most advanced electronic equipment for the German fleet at that time. Although, if it far surpassed the primitive equipment of Soviet submarines, it was catastrophically inferior to the more advanced technology of British, and especially American, submarines.
U-862 was equipped with a passive Gruppen-Horch-Gerät (GHG Balkongerät) hydroacoustic station, which made it possible to determine with some accuracy the bearing and distance to a target - a single ship at a distance of up to 20 km under favorable hydrological conditions, a convoy - up to 100 km.
The FuMB-29 Bali and FuMB-26 Tunis were probably used to warn of enemy radars. The FuMO 61 Hohentwiel radar was capable of detecting large-tonnage vessels at a distance of up to 13 km.
FuMB-26 Tunis
FuMO 61 "Hohentwiel" radar antenna
For observation at long distances (35-45 km), a single-seat motorless autogyro Focke-Achgelis FA-330 Bachstelze could be used. It was a kind of flying chair, equipped with a three-bladed propeller with a diameter of 7,32 m, connected to the boat by a towing rope and a telephone cable. The autogyro was stored disassembled in two sealed cylindrical containers. Four people could assemble it in three minutes.
To lift the "Bachstelze" into the air, the boat had to go full speed against the wind. The oncoming flow spun the propeller to 130-360 rpm and the craft rose into the air, reaching a height of 100-150 m. It is interesting to note that the pilot of the autogyro on U-862 was... the ship's doctor.
Focke-Achgelis FA-330 Bachstelze
Before setting out on a combat mission, the boat took on a valuable cargo: instead of some of the solid ballast, vessels with mercury (according to some sources, up to 100 tons) for Japan were loaded into its keel.
On May 20, 1944, the combat-ready (Frontreif) boat left Kiel for Norway, and on the 24th, after bunkering, left Fleckerfjord, located in the south of that country, intending to enter the Atlantic through the passage between the Faroe Islands and Iceland. The final destination was Penang.
However, this was an area of particular activity for British anti-submarine aircraft, which carried out 25-30 patrol flights daily. The U-862 radar indicator was almost never silent, the situation was aggravated by the fact that the period of white nights had begun. In this situation, surfacing to charge batteries and replenish air supplies threatened almost inevitable death. Thus, from May 16 to 28, British aircraft sank six submarines leaving Norway, and U-958 was forced to return, having received heavy damage.
On May 26, Timm received permission to return to the Norwegian coast. This time, a different decision was made: to follow the coast to the northern Norwegian port of Narvik, and from there try to break through to the Atlantic, rounding Jan Mayen Island from the north and, hugging the edge of the ice, pass through the Denmark Strait between Iceland and Greenland.
On May 30, U-862 arrived in Narvik, having traveled about 2000 miles since leaving Kiel. Here, the boat had to go into a floating dock for repairs - a leak had opened in one of the fuel tanks, which would have become a mortal threat to the boat, unmasking it with a rainbow trail. On June 3, having taken on fuel and food, the boat left European waters forever.
U-862 in Narvik
One of the most difficult stages of the crossing was the Denmark Strait. The distance between the coast of Iceland and the strip of solid ice adjacent to the Greenland shores was only 30-40 miles, and Iceland housed Allied air force bases. There was thick fog, sometimes visibility dropped to 5-6 meters, and floating ice floes were often encountered along the way. The radar indicator periodically went off - enemy anti-submarine aircraft were circling in the air, but at these moments the fog became a savior.
On July 12, a merchant vessel was first spotted on the approaches to the equator - a tanker with a tonnage of about 10 GRT, but due to its high speed, the pursuit was delayed, and, saving fuel, Timm abandoned further pursuit.
On July 14, the submarine crossed the equator in a submerged position, which was accompanied by a ceremony appropriate to the moment, with the commander acting as Neptune. One of the attributes of the celebration was the welcome drink of the sea king, which the newcomer had to drink - a mixture of diesel fuel, machine oil, castor oil, pepper and salt.
After passing Ascension Island, where the enemy air force base was located, Timm breathed a sigh of relief and decided to sail on the surface for most of the day. Finally, the submariners could breathe fresh air, ventilate the compartments that stank of fuel and machine oil, the galley and latrines, unwashed bodies and rotting vegetables, and dry their damp clothes and bed linen.
On the morning of July 24, the American steamship Robin Goodfellow (6885 GRT) was discovered, sailing from Cape Town to Brazil. U-862, sailing on the surface, took up a position convenient for attack, submerged and launched two T-5 Zaunkönig torpedoes with an acoustic homing system. And then the submariners had to endure several anxious minutes - the sonar operator unexpectedly reported that the noise of the torpedo propellers was increasing. Timm ordered to dive to 40 meters and stop the engines. The torpedo described circles above the submarine in search of a target until its battery was discharged. The second torpedo also missed the target.
Timm decided to surface and continue the chase. Having taken a convenient position, U-862 launched a fan of three "normal" torpedoes. The "American" hit by them sank within 10 minutes with all crew.
As we moved south, the weather worsened, the wind and waves increased sharply, which led to a drop in speed and an increase in the consumption of such precious fuel. It was especially difficult for those on watch on the bridge, which periodically completely sank under the crests of the waves coming from the Antarctic.
On August 3, U-862, rounding the Cape of Good Hope, reached the southernmost point of its passage. Now, according to the order received from the BdU (Befehlshaber der Unterseeboote - Commander of the Submarines), the course lay north - to the Mozambique Channel, and then to the Gulf of Aden, through which important enemy communications passed.
The pursuit of ships had seriously affected the fuel reserves, and Timm, worried about this, decided to follow the most economical, albeit slow (7 knots), speed in the surface position. This was facilitated by the design feature of the IXD2 boats' power plant. In addition to the two-shaft main power plant, they were equipped with two auxiliary diesel generators with a capacity of 500 hp each, designed to charge the storage batteries. In the most economical mode, a diesel engine operated at medium speed on one shaft, and the other shaft was rotated by a propulsion electric motor, powered by batteries, which in turn were charged by an auxiliary diesel generator.
As they approached the Mozambique Channel, the weather began to improve, and then a dead calm set in, and the sea became like a mirror surface. In these conditions, the boat became extremely vulnerable to attack from the air, and Timm decided to sail submerged during daylight hours, although even at night the telltale phosphorescent wake gave away the boat's camouflage.
Hard times came for the submarine crew - the temperature in the compartments reached 50 degrees, which was combined with high humidity. Fresh water supplies were intended only for cooking and drinking, and the desalination plant with a maximum capacity of only 240 liters per day mainly produced distillate to replenish the batteries. Only occasionally could they use an improvised shower with seawater, equipped in the corner of the diesel compartment. While the officers could "enjoy the comfort" of their cramped bunks, the crew had to be content with "warm bunks" in which those off duty slept in turns. The doctor did not have to rejoice in the lack of work - abscesses, boils, prickly heat and other skin diseases complemented constipation from a sedentary lifestyle and monotonous food.
It should not be thought that the British were unaware of the location of German boats in the area. In fact, the British intelligence and cryptographic service (Far Eastern Combined Bureau) in Colombo kept a close eye on the movements of the U-boats using radio intercepts and broken Enigma codes. However, the lack of escort forces in the area made it impossible to provide reliable protection for merchant shipping.
On August 13, another target was discovered – the British merchantman Radbury (3614 GRT), sailing from Lourenço Marques to Mombasa. The steamer was making a regular and quite predictable anti-submarine zigzag. After waiting for darkness, the submariners launched a torpedo attack, guided by the phosphorescent wake of the target. The fan of the first three torpedoes missed, so, having closed to a distance of 1000 meters, two more torpedoes were launched. They hit the target, and the steamer quickly sank.
Illuminating the site of his death with a searchlight, the submariners helped the lifeboat "Radbury" to pick up the victims of the disaster from the water and, having supplied them with cigarettes and shown them the course to the nearest shore, continued their journey north.
Following the Mozambique Channel, Timm decided to take advantage of the dead calm and carry out the laborious and dangerous work of transferring spare torpedoes from the deck containers into the submarine. The torpedo transfer hatch was opened, the cargo boom with hoists was armed, and the transfer began. In this condition, in the event of an unexpected appearance of enemy aircraft or ships, the submarine would not be able to submerge quickly and would become easy prey.
On the morning of August 16, another target was discovered – the British steamship Empire Lancer (7037 GRT), en route from Durban to Madagascar. Waiting until nightfall, the boat attacked and hit the steamship with three torpedoes. In addition, the ammunition in the hold detonated, and the ship sank within a minute.
U-862 was incredibly lucky in its catch - on the morning of August 19, the sonar operator again picked up the noise of the propellers of a steamship (a specialist can easily distinguish the noise of a ship with a steam engine from the sounds emitted by a diesel or steam turbine engine), which was heading in the opposite direction.
Timm did not fail to take advantage of this circumstance and decided to attack during the day, but the launched torpedo missed the target, possibly because the target was following an uneven anti-submarine zigzag. He continued the pursuit, expecting to make a new attack when darkness fell.
It was getting dark, the pursued steamer could only be detected by its phosphorescent wake. Having approached to a distance of about 1000 meters on the surface, at 19:40 the Germans fired two torpedoes. 58 seconds later, all hell broke loose. A series of powerful explosions thundered, and a hundred-meter column of flame rose above the ship. The blast wave knocked everyone on the submarine’s bridge off their feet, and the submariners inside decided that they had been hit by their own torpedo. Debris from the ship’s structures flew over the boat or crashed onto its deck, and within a few moments the steamer literally disintegrated. The victim of U-862 was the ammunition transport “Nairung” (5414 GRT), en route from Durban to Bombay.
Only a few hours passed, and at 06:00 on 20 August, another target was spotted - the steamship Wayfarer (5068 GRT) en route from Beira to Aden and Port Sudan. After 13 hours of pursuit, waiting until darkness, when the ship changed its uneven anti-submarine zigzag to a straight course, U-862 attacked it twice, firing three torpedoes, one of which hit the target, and the Wayfarer sank.
On August 19, the British twice detected the working radio transmitter of U-862, and seven aircraft from the Comoros Islands and three ships began hunting for it in the northern part of the Mozambique Channel.
On the morning of August 20, a twin-engine Catalina flying boat from 265 Squadron RAF spotted a submarine on the surface. Having transmitted an "SSS" (submarine detection signal), the British pilots decided to attack it.
From U-862, the aircraft approaching from the sun was detected at a distance of about 4000 meters. Timm, who had climbed to the bridge, realized that they would not have time to dive to a safe depth, and at the moment of diving, the submarine would become easy prey. It was decided to use anti-aircraft artillery, although its long stay under water raised doubts about the reliability of the guns. The 37-mm machine guns had a particularly bad reputation among submariners.
Having coolly waited until the diving plane approached to a distance of 500 m and dropped to 100 m, Timm gave the order to open fire. Although the 37 mm jammed after just a few shots, the damaged Catalina crashed into the water, barely missing the boat's bridge with its wing, and exploded.
Having received the "SSS" signal and not having received any further news from the ill-fated Catalina, the British ships and aircraft launched a large-scale search for the enemy submarine. By August 31, the Catalinas alone had flown 750 hours for this purpose.
The crew of U-862 had to endure many anxious hours. As soon as the boat tried to surface, the radar indicator went off – enemy aircraft were searching for it. The battery was discharged to an extremely low level, the CO2 content in the compartments was growing. Even the snorkel was dangerous to use – its head left a clearly visible foam trail on the mirror-like surface of the sea.
Therefore, hoping to distract the anti-submarine forces with a false target, the submariners decided to use the Aphrodite. The Aphrodite, which was accepted into service in September 1943, was a hydrogen-filled balloon with a diameter of 50 cm, attached to a float by a 80-meter cable, with strips of aluminum foil suspended from it. On the radar screen, it looked like a submarine on the surface.
Although the ruse succeeded and U-862 managed to escape, Timm, taking into account the presence of powerful anti-submarine forces in the northern approaches to the Mozambique Channel, and the fact that only three torpedoes remained on board, decided to proceed directly to Penang instead of the Gulf of Aden. His fears were not unfounded - to reinforce the forces already deployed, a carrier search and strike group led by the escort carrier "Battler" was sent to search for U-862. The search for the submarine in this area continued until 30 August.
U-862's operations in the South Atlantic, southern Indian Ocean and Mozambique Channel, July–August 1944
To be continued ...
Information