ON-153
Outward, northbound (North Atlantic and UK coastal waters)15 Dec 1942 - 21 Dec 1942
| The Convoy | 43 ships |
| First sighting | On 15 Dec 1942 by U-609 |
| Escorts | The British escort group B7 consisting of the destroyers Firedrake and Ripley, and the corvettes Sunflower, Loosestrife, Alisma and Pink. |
U-boats | The wolfpack Raufbold of 13 boats U-135 (Oblt Schutt), U-203 (KptLt Kottmann), U-211 (KptLt Hause) *, U-356 (Oblt Ruppelt) *, U-409 (Oblt Massmann), U-410 (KptLt Sturm), U-439 (KptLt Spam), U-600 (KptLt Zurmuhlen), U-609 (KptLt Rudloff) *, U-610 (Kptlt von Freyberg-Eisenberg-Allmendingen ) *, U-621 (KptLt Schunemann) *, U-623 (Oblt Schroder), U-664 (Oblt Graef) *, * U-boats that fired torpedo or used the deck gun |
The battle | After the first sighting, U-609 keeps contact until the evening of the 16th and in spite of heavy seas, brings up U-356, U-610, U-621 and U-664. As soon as darkness falls, the boats attack. First U-356 sinks a tanker, then U-610 torpedoes another tanker and U-621 sinks a freighter with 2 torpedoes. The ship damaged by U-610 is taken in tow and reaches a harbour. During night, U-211 attacks from the front and sinks the leading destroyer Firedrake, who has to be scuttled by the corvette Sunflower. Further attacks are frustrated by a strong gale reaching 10 Beauport. U-609 manages to keep contact in turns with U-621, but an attack fails in the gale and they get no more boats to the convoy. Finally, U-621 sinks 2 stragglers. |
Article compiled by Tom Linclau
Ships hit from convoy ON-153
| Date | U-boat | Commander | Name of ship | Tons | Nat. | Map | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 16 Dec 1942 | U-610 | Walter Freiherr von Freyberg-Eisenberg-Allmendingen |  | Bello | 6,125 |  | nw | A |
| 16 Dec 1942 | U-610 | Walter Freiherr von Freyberg-Eisenberg-Allmendingen | | Regent Lion (d.) | 9,551 |  | br | B |
| 16 Dec 1942 | U-664 | Adolf Graef | | Emile Francqui | 5,859 |  | be | C |
| 17 Dec 1942 | U-211 | Karl Hause | | HMS Firedrake (H 79) | 1,350 | | br | D |
| 20 Dec 1942 | U-621 | Max Kruschka | | Otina | 6,217 | | br | E |
| 29,102 | ||||||||
4 ships sunk (19,551 tons) and 1 ship damaged (9,551 tons). Legend | ||||||||
49 convoys on route ON were hit by U-boats in the war. Read more about them.