U-862 off the coast of Australia and New Zealand. In the Indian Ocean and the second combat mission
German submarines in Penang. In the background is a Japanese submarine
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.
Part two. Beginning: U-862 off the coast of Australia and New Zealand
As the distance from Madagascar increased, the danger of attack from enemy anti-submarine forces diminished, and Timm decided to sail on the surface around the clock. At last, the submariners, free from duty, could breathe in the fresh sea air and expose their deathly pale bodies to the sun's rays.
On September 4, having traveled 2000 miles from Madagascar in complete radio silence, Timm decided to get in touch and report the estimated time of approach to Penang, after which he left the transmission site at maximum speed. The results of this race were not long in coming - the piston of one of the diesel engines jammed. In addition to this, due to overheating of the damaged engine, a fire broke out in the compartment and the long-awaited mail stored there in the Far East burned. Repairs in extremely cramped conditions and 50-degree heat took 14 hours. Although the British radio interception service intercepted the radio, it was able to determine the location of the transmission only very approximately.
As they approached the shores of Southeast Asia, the likelihood of an attack by British, Dutch and American submarines operating in the area grew, while Japanese anti-submarine forces were extremely weak and ineffective. Thus, from January 1944 to January 1945, British submarines launched 21 torpedo attacks against Axis submarines in the area. During this time, 6 German submarines perished here for various reasons.
An example is the U-859 type IXD2, which was sailing from Europe on a route similar to U-862. On July 5, 270 miles off the South African coast, it was attacked by a British Catalina and seriously damaged. One German sailor was killed and three others were wounded. Nevertheless, the boat arrived in the Gulf of Aden, where it sank two ships. One of them was the John Barry, with a cargo of three million silver coins minted in the United States by order of the King of Saudi Arabia, silver bars worth $300 million, and various military supplies for the USSR.
After sailing 22 miles, 000 of which were submerged, and having been on the voyage for five months, two weeks and five days, U-18 was torpedoed by the British submarine Trenchant on September 000, just 23 miles from Penang. The British submarine picked up 25 survivors, and eight more were later rescued by a Japanese submarine.
Therefore, U-862 spent the last 9 hours before arriving at its destination underwater. On the morning of September 3,5, after 80 months of dangerous passage, the boat surfaced 196 miles north of Penang, where it was met by a Japanese destroyer and covered from the air by a German Arado Ar 2 A-330 seaplane. Two such planes were left here by the auxiliary cruiser Michel, and they became the only German combat equipment in Penang. In October, in exchange for the Focke-Achgelis FA-862 Bachstelze autogyros from U-196 and U-XNUMX, the Japanese handed over their Reishiki seaplane. In addition to these planes, the Germans also had a small vessel, the Quito.
The boat was met, in addition to the German base personnel, headed by Wilhelm Dommes, by the personnel of the local Japanese submarine flotilla, headed by an admiral, and a military orchestra played German melodies. Brotherhood of arms seemed certain and joyful.
Penang was chosen as the German base (Stützpunkt Penang, also called Stützpunkt Siegfried) in December 1942, and work on organizing the base began in the summer of 1943. In March 1944, it was headed by the former commander of the U-23, which arrived there on 1943 August 178, Captain 3rd Rank Wilhelm Dommes (Korvettenkapitän Wilhelm Dommes). The German personnel of all four Asian bases (Penang, Singapore, Jakarta and Surabaya) amounted to about 200 people, some of whom were pre-war civilian specialists.
The command of the Japanese submarine flotilla based in Penang provided the Germans with a pier with cargo cranes, capable of simultaneously accommodating up to five submarines, and also allowed them to use their workshops and warehouses. A significant advantage of this pier was the presence of more than 40-meter depths right next to it, which made it possible to carry out test dives there.
The overwhelming majority of repair work was carried out by submarine crews in extremely difficult conditions - the temperature in the compartments reached 40-50 degrees with 90% humidity. At the same time, the main spare parts, lubricating oils (the Japanese could only provide oils of extremely low quality), electrical and radio equipment, torpedoes, etc. had to be delivered from Europe by submarines, many of which perished during the passage.
By March 1944, the torpedo situation was particularly dire. The situation improved somewhat with the arrival of U-19 (a Type VIIF transport boat) on 1062 April, which delivered 39 torpedoes from Bergen to Penang.
The situation with food was much better. Local fruits and vegetables were in abundance, and the source of most other types of food was... the American refrigerated ship "Nanking", captured by the auxiliary cruiser "Thor" in May 1942. In its holds were 42 boxes of meat and 000 boxes of fruit and vegetable preserves, 28 tons of flour, frozen meat, bacon, and butter. Relations with the local population were also quite good - the barbaric attitude of the Japanese occupiers was contrary to German self-awareness.
Hidden solidarity was also shown towards their “European brothers” – the Australian-British prisoners of war – German submariners secretly passed them food and medicine.
German submariners in Penang
More extensive repairs, including dry-docking, were carried out in Singapore and later also in Surabaya, formerly the main base of the Dutch navy in the East Indies. The batteries were replaced in Kobe, Japan.
If in European bases the inter-voyage technical maintenance of German submarines lasted from 20 days to 1,5 months, then in Southeast Asia it took at least 70 days. After the submarines arrived from Europe to Penang or Batavia, their further stay had to take place according to the following schedule:
3 days - cleaning of compartments, unloading and checking of torpedoes;
20 days - urgently needed repair work on the hull, diving-surfacing system fittings, engines, weapons, etc.;
3 days - unloading of various supplies and transfer to Singapore for docking;
14 days - dock work, including unloading and loading of cargo transported in the keel, return passage to Penang or Batavia;
14 days – loading fuel, lubricating oil, provisions, ammunition, crew rest, sea trials, test dives.
In fact, these results were never achieved, primarily because priority was always given to Japanese ships when docking and carrying out other repair work, and when resolving any issues, a wall of all-pervasive Japanese bureaucracy stood in the way. In addition, transporting technical supplies for the boats between local bases was a very complex and lengthy procedure. This was hampered, in addition to the "help of Japanese friends", by ambushes by Allied submarines and mine laying by them. aviation on the approaches to the bases.
The Allied submarines based at the Australian naval base Fremantle were a formidable force - 10 British and Dutch and 41 American units.
Although U-862's stay in Penang lasted only until September 12, despite all the difficulties of repair work, the German base command and their Japanese allies tried to provide the crew with maximum opportunity for rest. The submariners free from watch and work were placed in nearby mountain rest areas with more comfortable cool conditions. Yes, but an unlimited fresh shower, washing away the months-long layer of salt and sweat from the body, daily change of bed linen and underwear seemed an incredible miracle!
The Beauties of Penang
The crew of U-862 at one of the bases in Southeast Asia
On September 12, U-862 headed for docking in Singapore. Despite the danger of attack by enemy submarines, due to difficult navigation conditions (shoals, etc.), it was necessary to proceed in a surface position. The number of lookouts was increased, and all those not on watch, dressed in life jackets, were on deck. Fortunately, the passage went without incident, and on September 13, the boat arrived at its destination.
The crew of U-862 during the passage in the Strait of Malacca
Here the officers and crew were accommodated in comfortable conditions on the shore, and in their free time from watch and work the submariners were given the opportunity for pleasant and varied recreation. In addition to this, due to the high temperature and humidity in the compartments, the working time for the crew was limited to three hours.
However, despite all the efforts of the ship's and shore doctors, local tropical diseases: Dengue fever, malaria, dysentery and other tropical diseases did not pass by the German submariners, including the commander. But, surprisingly, venereal diseases from trips to local girls were isolated.
Just a few days after arriving in Singapore, the boat was put into dry dock. In addition to a large amount of work on repairing the main and auxiliary mechanisms, the mercury stored in the keel was unloaded. In exchange, molybdenum and tungsten, so necessary for the German industry, were loaded in, packed in thick-walled tin containers (tin was also highly valued in the Reich).
On 19 September, the boat's commander, Heinrich Timm, was awarded the Knight's Cross, and 50 other crew members were awarded the Iron Crosses first and second class.
Even during the stay in Penang, Heinrich Timm proposed that BdU, after completing the dock work in Singapore, instead of immediately returning to Europe, first make a raid on the shores of Australia, where German submarines had not yet appeared. The commander of U-168 (Type IXC), Kapitänleutnant Helmuth Pich, made a similar proposal.
On September 14, BdU sent a radiogram to Penang, which stated, in particular: "We agree to military operations by Pich and Timm in the area of Australia. Departure when ready. Send proposals regarding the area of operations. Use Japanese information on ship traffic and the defense system."
In addition to the above-mentioned boats, K. Dönitz decided to use U-537 (type IXC/40) under the command of Kapitänleutnant Peter Schrewe off the Australian coast.
Due to a shortage of torpedoes (there were only 50 left in the Penang warehouses), only fourteen were allocated to each of the three boats, although Timm managed to get one more after persistent requests.
The first to leave Jakarta was U-168. Its route ran along the northern coast of Java to Surabaya to check the condition of the batteries, and then through the Lombok Strait to the shores of Australia. The route and time of the passage were agreed upon with the local Japanese naval command down to the smallest detail.
All this information had already become known to the Allied radio interception service by October 5, and the Dutch submarine Zwaardvisch was sent out to hunt. At dawn on October 6, the German submarine, which was on the surface, was discovered approaching Surabaya "only five minutes later than planned," according to the Dutch commander.
Dutch submarine "Zwaardvisch"
A fan of six torpedoes, fired from a distance of only 800 meters, sent U-168 to the bottom. Only 27 people were saved, and some of them, including the commander, managed to leave the boat, which sank at a depth of 40 meters, by free floating.
According to the plan, U-862 was supposed to leave on October 20, but repair work was delayed, and the submarine left Singapore only on November 5. Soon, the starboard shaft line began to vibrate very strongly, which forced the submarine to return. The malfunction was quickly fixed, and the next day U-862 headed to Jakarta (Batavia). This delay saved the submarine from destruction.
Here is what Allied intelligence knew about the planned passage of U-862:
"0416943 at the Singapore base gives the following program for one "friendly" (German?) submarine, traveling together with a merchant ship (it was the "Quito" - author's note).
5th at 12.00:XNUMX - eastern entrance to the Singapore Strait.
6th - northern entrance to Bangka Strait.
7th - arrival in Batavia."
5th at 12.00:XNUMX - eastern entrance to the Singapore Strait.
6th - northern entrance to Bangka Strait.
7th - arrival in Batavia."
Due to navigational hazards, the boat was sailing in a surface position, performing an anti-submarine zigzag. The sailors off duty in life jackets were on the upper deck, the officers were ordered to remove all insignia, since enemy submariners were trying to capture officers from the sunken boat. On the morning of November 8, U-862 arrived safely in Jakarta.
Southeast Asia 1944-1945:
German submarine bases
German submarines sunk in 1944–1945
U-862 sailing on the Penang-Singapore-Jakarta route.
German submarine bases
German submarines sunk in 1944–1945
U-862 sailing on the Penang-Singapore-Jakarta route.
The Allied signals intelligence services operating in the Indian and Pacific Oceans – the British FECB (Colombo), the American FRUPAC (Hawaii) and the American-Australian FRUMEL (Melbourne) – were constantly monitoring radio communications between the BdU and German bases and submarines in the Far East. A radiogram to Penang on 14 September authorising submarine operations in Australian waters was deciphered the following day.
This message caused considerable alarm among the allies, especially since the exact area of the enemy's upcoming actions was unknown. Given the location of the enemy naval base in this region, the most likely was southwest Australia, where Fremantle was located - a large submarine base for the US, Great Britain and the Netherlands. It was assumed that the U-boats would set up ambushes or lay mines on the approaches to the base.
The situation was complicated by the weakness of the allied anti-submarine forces - military operations off the coast of Western Australia had not been conducted for about a year and a half and were not given significant importance. In fact, the anti-submarine forces consisted of three Bathurst-class minesweepers (or corvettes) (1040 tons, 15,5 knots, 1×102 mm, 1×40 mm, 2×20 mm, 40-70 depth charges, hydroacoustic station), several boat minesweepers and 14 Bristol Beaufort Mk IV torpedo bombers. In addition, an American submarine base and a target ship, which usually served to train submariners in torpedo firing, were supposed to be used to combat submarines.
On the morning of November 10, U-537 became another victim of the Allied forces. On November 4, the Japanese Coast Guard command in Surabaya sent a radiogram with a detailed program for the German submarine's passage, starting with its departure from this base on November 9. FRUMEL deciphered this message in the shortest possible time and a search and strike group consisting of three American submarines was sent from Darwin (Northern Australia) to search for U-537.
USS Flounder spotted U-537, making an anti-submarine zigzag on the surface northeast of Surabaya, and fired four electric torpedoes from a range of about 4 meters. Two of them hit their target and the boat sank instantly.
USS Flounder
In addition to the above, on November 30, U-196 left Jakarta for the western shores of Australia. This boat is famous for having set a record for the longest stay in combat during World War II in 1943 - 225 days. This time, the boat's luck changed - it went missing and was declared lost on December 22.
At midday on November 18, U-862 left Jakarta and headed for the Sunda Strait. This time, Allied intelligence did not receive information about this in time, and the submarine managed to safely reach the Indian Ocean.
During the first five days of the crossing, Timm tried to stay about 450 miles from the Australian coast, which reduced the risk of detection by enemy aircraft and allowed him to sail on the surface despite the stormy weather.
During the two months of being in exotic and relatively comfortable conditions, the submariners had become quite unaccustomed to the hardships of their sea life and had become “out of rut”. The submarine’s IWO (first watch officer) described these days in his memoirs:
"It's incredibly hot in the boat. It's impossible to sleep. Everyone has severe headaches. I have severe diarrhea, haven't eaten for four days."
On November 23, having reached 10 degrees south latitude, the boat turned southeast with the intention of rounding Cape Leeuwin and entering the Great Australian Bight. Here Timm hoped to meet a large number of ships heading to the ports of eastern Australia (Melbourne, Sydney) or to the Pacific theater of military operations.
Fearing air patrols, the boat only traveled submerged during daylight hours. And not in vain - on November 25, a sharp squeak from the "Tunis" indicator warned of the radar's operation - an enemy aircraft was searching for a submarine.
On November 28, U-862 entered the Great Australian Bight, which greeted her with gigantic waves, the swell was felt even at a depth of 50 meters. The temperature dropped sharply - an icy wind blew from Antarctica. Rain charges greatly limited visibility. At the same time, anti-submarine patrols by RAAF aircraft remained quite intense.
In addition to this, the constant solid cloud cover made it impossible to determine the boat’s location by the heavenly bodies, and determining by dead reckoning, especially in stormy weather, was comparable to fortune telling on coffee grounds.
Only on December 3rd was it possible to determine the position by the luminaries, and it turned out that the boat was much further south than expected, far from shipping routes. Timm moved full speed north, hoping to finally find prey.
But the days went by and there was only empty ocean around. So Timm decided to move to the area of Port Adelaide and closer to the shore. Early in the morning of December 6, they saw a rocky shore in the periscope and followed it to the southeast.
On the morning of December 9, the boat finally heard the long-awaited noise of a steamship's propellers. It was the armed Greek vessel Ilissos (4274 GRT), heading to Melbourne. Since it was impossible to take the necessary position for a torpedo attack, Timm decided to surface and use artillery.
This decision was quite adventurous. There was a storm on the surface, and as we know, a submarine is a very unstable artillery platform. In addition, U-862 was in sight of the shore, and Australian aircraft or ships could appear at any moment.
The Germans managed to fire only three shots from the 105mm gun (all misses) when the "Greek" returned fire from the stern 102mm gun. Timm decided not to tempt fate and gave the order to dive.
Having received the message from the Ilyssos about the attack, Australian aircraft based in Laverton began the hunt for U-862, which lasted until the end of December. A total of 373 aircraft sorties (1180 flight hours) were made. In addition, three corvettes, which at the time of the attack were only 3 miles away, searched for the boat for about a day. All ships transiting the area of south-eastern Australia were ordered to observe special precautions (blackout, anti-submarine zigzag, radio silence, setting paravanes when sailing at depths less than 90 meters, etc.).
The Australian command was also seriously concerned that U-boat could lay mines in the Bass Strait separating the Australian mainland and the island of Tasmania, something that German surface raiders had already done during the First and Second World Wars. Therefore, seven minesweepers were sent to control the strait, and all ships were ordered to round Tasmania from the south. But there were no mines on board U-862.
Timm also decided to go around the island from the south. The waves were getting worse and the temperature dropped sharply. On the evening of December 14, the lookouts saw the mountains of southern Tasmania and a lighthouse blinking there, just like in peacetime, which allowed them to pinpoint the boat's location.
In the afternoon of the following day, a large tanker was spotted at a distance of about 5 miles. After waiting for darkness, the commander decided to surface and, at maximum speed, try to catch up with the steamship that had already disappeared from sight. And again, failure! Suddenly, at a distance of only about 500 meters, an airplane was spotted, flashing white and green lights. Timm decided that the submarine had been spotted and gave the order: "Emergency dive!" But, as it turned out later, neither the tanker nor the airplane had spotted the submarine. But the target was already very close, and the submariners clearly heard the noise of its propeller!
On December 20, when the submarine was east of the entrance to Bass Strait, hydroacoustic contact was established with another vessel, which was classified as a transport of about 8000 tons and a speed of 16 knots. Due to heavy seas, it was not possible to catch up with and attack the vessel. And this was already the third elusive prey! Having spent a month on the voyage and covered 4000 miles, the submariners did not achieve any success. And news from Europe did not contribute to a good mood.
Over the next few days, the U-862's hydroacoustic station repeatedly picked up the noise of propellers from passing ships, but the raging hurricane and poor visibility made it impossible to even observe them visually.
Christmas was approaching. A Christmas tree appeared in the forward compartment, constructed from a broom handle, wire, strips of green tarpaulin and decorated with a garland of electric lights. The cook tried to demonstrate all his culinary and confectionary skills.
On December 24, Grand Admiral K. Dönitz congratulated the submariners:
"My submariners!
"Both at the front and at home, you celebrate our sixth wartime Christmas with firm determination, unconditional devotion to our homeland and fanatical faith in our Führer. Today, all my thoughts are with you, my old and young submariners, who are fighting far from home during this ancient German holiday."
"My submariners!
"Both at the front and at home, you celebrate our sixth wartime Christmas with firm determination, unconditional devotion to our homeland and fanatical faith in our Führer. Today, all my thoughts are with you, my old and young submariners, who are fighting far from home during this ancient German holiday."
And on Christmas Eve, the submariners proudly listened to Doenitz's radio broadcast, in which he spoke of the achievements of the German submarines fighting in Southeast Asia. But the main Christmas present was still to come.
On the night before Christmas, a Liberty-class steamship was spotted 160 miles southeast of Sydney and two torpedoes fired from a range of 600 metres severely damaged it and disabled it. It was the American Robert J. Walker (7176 GRT), sailing in ballast from Fremantle to Sydney. The ship was armed with one 127mm and four 20mm guns.
The attempt to finish off the "American" was unsuccessful - the third torpedo missed. And then began a multi-hour epic. "Robert J. Walker" sent an emergency radiogram to Melbourne:
"SOS. Torpedoed or struck a mine. Air cover and immediate assistance required."
And U-862 had its own problem - a battery that was almost completely discharged. It was already in very poor condition, according to the commander's report, its capacity was only 66% of the nominal. The boat had to charge the battery for about two hours while describing the circulation.
Meanwhile, Timm discussed the situation with his officers. On the one hand, after such long days of hunting, they did not want to let the prey go, but on the other hand, the remaining supply of torpedoes was very limited, dawn was approaching and the enemy could appear at any moment. After much deliberation, the decision was made to try to finish off the "Yankee".
The boat submerged and, having approached to a minimum distance, released a torpedo. For some reason, it went almost along the surface and was noticed by an American vessel, which opened fire on it from 20-mm machine guns. A hundred meters from the target, the torpedo detonated.
The submarine considered this explosion a hit and was quite surprised by the survivability of the steamship. After more than an hour and a half of maneuvering, the boat went on the attack again. This time, 2500 fired 20-mm shells did not help and the torpedo hit the target. The vessel sank, although it stayed afloat for almost another day.
The first Australian aircraft appeared over the scene of the tragedy 10 minutes after the last torpedo hit. Meanwhile, U-862 tried to crawl away from the pursuit that had begun at the slowest speed. The Christmas feast was postponed until better times, as much electrical equipment as possible was switched off to save electricity, and all those off duty were sent to their bunks to save oxygen, because even with all the regeneration means in place, after 40 hours the CO2 content in the compartments began to exceed the maximum permissible level.
Already on the first day, 11 aircraft were involved in the search for the German submarine. As soon as the boat surfaced and began charging its battery, "Flieger, Flieger" and the signal for an urgent dive were heard. A large number of ships and boats, from destroyers to minesweepers, were also involved in the hunt. The search for the submarine continued until January 9.
Bristol Beaufort Mk VI aircraft of the Royal Australian Air Force
An Australian Air Force Consolidated B-24 Liberator
The disappearance of the German submarine and the possibility of it striking again greatly alarmed the Australian naval command, given the extreme weakness of its anti-submarine forces off the Pacific coast of Australia. At that time, most of fleet was involved in combat operations in the area of New Guinea and the Philippines.
U-862 operations off the coast of Australia, November–December 1944
The ending should ...
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