General Discussions
This is the place to discuss general issues related to the U-boat war or the war at sea in WWII.
Re: U-boats attacked by allied submarines
Posted by:
Platon Alexiades
()
Date: February 24, 2005 05:06PM
Hello Joe,
Yes, I have the KTBs of all U-boats concerned in this attack. The RN submarine service kept a monthly log which is mainly concerned with the vessel movements and positions and has very few details on operation if any. They also filed a patrol report which was a more detailed account of the patrol and actions. The French Navy followed also a similar procedure. I have read both log and patrol report of HMS URSULA.
After having a closer look at the KTBs of the U-boats concerned, I have come to the following conclusion:
The U-boats were proceeding in single file, apparently U-35 in the lead, she warned the other boats (U-21, U-23 and U-3. U-31 apparently was not with them at the time as she does not mention the attack at all). U-35 sighted the torpedo wakes and combed the tracks then turned away, signalling the other boats of the presence of an enemy submarine. U-21 sighted the tracks but was not the intended target, U-23 (Kretschmer) reported avoiding 3 torpedo tracks 32 minutes later but her KTB is very sketchy and the time entries may have been entered approximately. U-36 which was apparently behind U-23 reported that 1 torpedo missed U-23 astern and this coincides with the single torpedo fired by URSULA ten minutes after her first salvo. U-23 crossing the tracks of the torpedoes fired earlier may have assumed that three torpedoes were aimed at her instead of actually a single one.
In conclusion, URSULA fired 4 torpedoes at U-35 and ten minutes fired a single torpedo at U-23 but believed she was attacking the same boat. I am open to other suggestions.
Best regards,
Platon
Yes, I have the KTBs of all U-boats concerned in this attack. The RN submarine service kept a monthly log which is mainly concerned with the vessel movements and positions and has very few details on operation if any. They also filed a patrol report which was a more detailed account of the patrol and actions. The French Navy followed also a similar procedure. I have read both log and patrol report of HMS URSULA.
After having a closer look at the KTBs of the U-boats concerned, I have come to the following conclusion:
The U-boats were proceeding in single file, apparently U-35 in the lead, she warned the other boats (U-21, U-23 and U-3. U-31 apparently was not with them at the time as she does not mention the attack at all). U-35 sighted the torpedo wakes and combed the tracks then turned away, signalling the other boats of the presence of an enemy submarine. U-21 sighted the tracks but was not the intended target, U-23 (Kretschmer) reported avoiding 3 torpedo tracks 32 minutes later but her KTB is very sketchy and the time entries may have been entered approximately. U-36 which was apparently behind U-23 reported that 1 torpedo missed U-23 astern and this coincides with the single torpedo fired by URSULA ten minutes after her first salvo. U-23 crossing the tracks of the torpedoes fired earlier may have assumed that three torpedoes were aimed at her instead of actually a single one.
In conclusion, URSULA fired 4 torpedoes at U-35 and ten minutes fired a single torpedo at U-23 but believed she was attacking the same boat. I am open to other suggestions.
Best regards,
Platon
