RS-3
27 Mar 1943 - 29 Mar 1943
| The Convoy | 9 ships |
| First sighting | On 27 Mar 1943 |
| Escorts | 2 corvettes and 2 armed trawlers. |
U-boats | The wolfpack Seeräuber with 7 boats U-67 (Korvkpt. Müller-Stöckheim), U-123 (Oblt. von Schroeter), U-159 (Kptlt. Witte) *, U-167 (Fregkapt. Sturm) *, U-172 (Korvkpt. Emmermann) *, U-513 (Korvkpt. Rüggeberg), U-515 (Kptlt. Henke) The Italian boat Finzi is also patrolling in the region. * U-boats that fired torpedo or used the deck gun |
The battle | On receiving information from the B-service, the patrol line Seeräuber is formed to intercept the coastal convoy RS-3 off western Africa. This convoy consists of 5 slow tugs, a valuable cable-layer ship and three merchants. The 2 corvettes leave the convoy in the morning of the 28th to reinforce the escort of another convoy going North. U-159 attacks and sinks one ship. The convoy commodore orders to increase speed and to zigzag, but the tugs cannot keep up with the remainder. In the afternoon U-172 attacks and sinks one ship. U-167 waits until dusk to attack and around midnight torpedoes the last merchant ship, which founders slowly. The next day strong air escort is provided. The operation is broken off and the boats disperse to start individual operations. |
Article compiled by Tom Linclau
Ships hit from convoy RS-3
| Date | U-boat | Commander | Name of ship | Tons | Nat. | Map | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 28 Mar 1943 | U-167 | Kurt Sturm |  | Lagosian | 5,449 |  | br | A |
| 28 Mar 1943 | U-159 | Helmut Friedrich Witte | | Silverbeech | 5,319 | | br | B |
| 29 Mar 1943 | U-172 | Carl Emmermann | | Moanda | 4,621 |  | be | C |
| 15,389 | ||||||||
3 ships sunk (15,389 tons). Legend | ||||||||
This was the only convoy on route RS hit by U-boats in the war.