General Discussions
This is the place to discuss general issues related to the U-boat war or the war at sea in WWII.
Re: Fate of SURCOUF
Posted by:
jcrt
()
Date: February 09, 2011 11:48AM
Hi, The above incident you mention, I too thought that U 502, could have been responsible. Having read the book Who sank surcouf? by James Rusbridger, I wrote to him, way back in January 1992. His reply being ( as far as u 502 is concerned, I doubt the 'tanker' it attacked at 11.50am on the 14th February 1942, in the approimate position you mentioned could have been Surcouf. As I show on pages 184-185, Surcouf would not have started to pass through the Caicos Passage until mid-afternoon on the 15th, whereas the position you suggest for u 502 is south of Jamaica which Surcouf did not reach until the morning of the 17th). He then went on to say (And,of course, these positions are predicted on the assumption that Surcouf managed to maintain an average of 10 knots.) What concerns me is the fact that there was no communication with Surcouf after she had sailed, which meant there is no evidence to show what speed she maintained or if she strayed from her planned course at any time. Regards john