General Discussions
This is the place to discuss general issues related to the U-boat war or the war at sea in WWII.
Re: Air Attacks on U-Boats, Norway, 17 May 44
Posted by:
Axel
()
Date: November 30, 2006 10:51AM
Saw this thread only now. Being responsible for the reassessment of the loss of U 240, I should be able to put some light into the matter.
As already stated, u 668 was clearly attacked in the afternoon of 16 May. The other attack at 16/2207 GMT by C/333 was certainly not against U 240, which should have been at that time already north of 64°N. This is born out by a comparison with the positions reached by the three other boats on transfer to Narvik. They all sailed from Kristiansand South at the same time. As all for boats were under order to form a fixed search line against a British carrier group believed to be in the area, it is unlikely that U 240 stood behind without notifying Control. By excluding U 240, this brings U 241 into the matter. This boat sailed from Bergen at 1745 GMT on 15 May 44, bound for the North Atlantic via the route south of Iceland. By applying the normal days run, this boat could well have been in the area of the attack by C/333 and it is very probably that it was U 241 being attacked at this occasion during the attempt to recharge its battery. No other boat reported being attacked or could have been in the area. No signal was received from U 241 after it left port. However, this does not indicate that it was not attacked at all. Because not other boat than U 241 could have been sunk in the air attack on 18 May 44 by S/210, U 241 is likely to have survived the attack by C/333 undamaged.
Aircraft crews sometimes became confused at night about the total number of targets present. In this case it appears that the aircraft attacked the same boat twice without realising it. This would explain the two boats reported by the aircraft.
It should be noted that U 241 was a Schnorkel equipped boat but schnorkels were hardly used by the boats at that time during transfer passage. U 241 carried the usual outfit of two twins on the upper bandstand and the 3.7 cm automatic AA-gun on the lower stand. The schnorkel was a model 2 Type without the air-intake tube along the port side of the CT.
Axel
As already stated, u 668 was clearly attacked in the afternoon of 16 May. The other attack at 16/2207 GMT by C/333 was certainly not against U 240, which should have been at that time already north of 64°N. This is born out by a comparison with the positions reached by the three other boats on transfer to Narvik. They all sailed from Kristiansand South at the same time. As all for boats were under order to form a fixed search line against a British carrier group believed to be in the area, it is unlikely that U 240 stood behind without notifying Control. By excluding U 240, this brings U 241 into the matter. This boat sailed from Bergen at 1745 GMT on 15 May 44, bound for the North Atlantic via the route south of Iceland. By applying the normal days run, this boat could well have been in the area of the attack by C/333 and it is very probably that it was U 241 being attacked at this occasion during the attempt to recharge its battery. No other boat reported being attacked or could have been in the area. No signal was received from U 241 after it left port. However, this does not indicate that it was not attacked at all. Because not other boat than U 241 could have been sunk in the air attack on 18 May 44 by S/210, U 241 is likely to have survived the attack by C/333 undamaged.
Aircraft crews sometimes became confused at night about the total number of targets present. In this case it appears that the aircraft attacked the same boat twice without realising it. This would explain the two boats reported by the aircraft.
It should be noted that U 241 was a Schnorkel equipped boat but schnorkels were hardly used by the boats at that time during transfer passage. U 241 carried the usual outfit of two twins on the upper bandstand and the 3.7 cm automatic AA-gun on the lower stand. The schnorkel was a model 2 Type without the air-intake tube along the port side of the CT.
Axel
