Black May (74 page)

29
. Ibid., SRGN 17965.

30
. Ibid., SRGN 17963,18031.

31
. Ibid., SRGN 17980.

32
. Ibid., SRGN 17975.

33
. NHB/MOD, Coppock, “Loss of U 89, U 456 U 753 in May 1943,” FDS 412. F/Lt. Wright made no mention of his use of the Mk. 24 in his after-action report; PRO, Air 27/911, RAF Form 541, No. 86 Squadron, 12 May 1943, p. 4. Earlier published reports that U
-456
was finished off by Sunderland “G” of Canadian 423 Sqdn. and two surface escorts are in error, according to Coppock, who concludes that their attack was made instead against
U—753
on 13 May, see below. On 14 May the bodies of two crewmen from U
-456
were found in BD 6643 by U
-448
(Oblt.z.S. Helmut Dauter). From the position given, Coppock concludes that they had been lost overboard.

34
. NARA, KTB-BdU, 12, 13 May 1943. Some earlier published accounts indicate that Mk. 24s were used successfully against
U-266
on 13 (or 14) May by B/86 and against U-657 on 14 May by a USN Catalina of No. 84 Sqdn. from Iceland. But these are in error, according to Coppock. The
U-
266
was sunk by D/Cs dropped by Halifax “M” of 58 Sqdn. on 15 May, and U-657 was
sunk by the frigate H.M.S.
Swale
on 17 May. Credit for a successful Mk. 24 sinking of U
-954
on 19 May has been given in several sources to Liberator “T” of 120 Sqdn. from Reykjavik, Iceland, but this seems not to have been possible and Coppock gives the credit instead to the frigate H.M.S.
Jed
and the ex-U.S. Coast Guard cutter H.M.S.
Sennen
on that date. Following 12 May, the only other successful use of Mk. 24 during the month was by USN Catalina “F” of Patrol Squadron VP-84 against
U-467
on 26 May.

35
. NHB/MOD, Coppock, “Loss of U 89, U 456 and U 753 in May 1943, FDS 412; Assessments,” f. 283.

36
. PRO, ADM 199/577, 578, Convoy HX.237. their summation Dönitz/Godt explained that the operation against HX.237 had to be given up because, “Right from the first day, carrier borne planes were sighted with the convoy, and later on the carrier itself was seen once. These planes and other land-based escorts made the operation very difficult, and on the last day [13th] it had to be given up because this air activity was too powerful.” NARA, KTB-BdU, 13 May 1943.

37
. During the daytime hours BdU signaled the
Elbe I and II
boats:
BY DARKNESS AS MANY BOATS AS POSSIBLE MUST BE AT IT. OPERATE AT MAXIMUM SPEED TO REACH CONVOY BEFORE THEN. THE FIRST NIGHT IS THE MOST FAVORABLE ONE. EVEN TOMORROW IT WILL BE MORE DIFFICULT
. NARA, RG 457, SRGN 17836.

38
. NHB/MOD, Assessments, f. 25, and notations by R. M. Coppock, who emphasizes that all the attacks, including the ramming, were delivered against the same boat; PRO, ADM 199/2020, p. 5. A report of U-223's damage was sent by Wächter to BdU at 1620 GMT. He included mention of the two crewmen lost overboard, the death of the Coxswain, and light wounds suffered by himself and both Watch Officers. NARA, RG 457, SRGN 17989. Förster (U
-359)
went to Wächters aid, handing over one of the crewmen who went overboard as well as bandages for the wounded. This boat stayed with Wächter until, emergency repairs completed in the evening of the 14th, the rammed boat was able to make a crash dive. Ibid., SRGN 17900,17992,18243. Förster also was forced to return to base by an oil track caused by D/C damage to his own boat. Ibid., SRGN 17905,17943.

39
. NARA, RG 457, SRGN 17938. T.O.I. 1031,12 May 1943.

40
. NHB/MOD, Assessments, f. 27, and notation by R. M. Coppock; PRO, ADM 199/2020, Support Groups, Convoy SC.129, pp. 4–5; PRO, ADM 199/577, 579, 580, 2020, Convoy SC.129.

41
. NARA, KTB-BdU, 13, 14 May 1943.

42
. Interview with Herbert A. Werner,
Ponte Vedra, Florida, 9 May 1995. In the introduction to his book
Iron Coffins
, as well as in his interview with the writer, Werner acknowledged that his book was written for a political purpose: to protest that “our lives were squandered on inadequate equipment and by the unconscionable policies of U-Boat Headquarters”; p. xix.

43
. NHB/MOD, Assessments, f. 287, and notation by R. M. Coppock. It was probably U-640 that was attacked at 2043 the evening before by another USN Catalina, I/184; f. 286. This U-boat reported at 0112 that it had been attacked by a Catalina. Some authorities have U
-640
torpedoing the merchant ship
Aymeric
three days later and then being sunk herself by H.M.S.
Swale;
but BdU, Rohwer, and Coppock deduce that
Aymeric
was sunk by U-657. That U
-640
was sunk on the 14th, three days before, by K/84 best fits all the available evidence according to Coppock, to the writer, “Loss of U 381, U 640, U 657 and U 258 in May 1943,” FDS 442, London, by hand, 29 May 1997. The loss of U-657 is attributed to
Swale
on 17 May, see below. There were three unsuccessful attacks employing the Mk. 24 Mine on 14 May: by Catalina K/84 at 0900; Catalina C/84 at 1337; and Liberator J/120 at 1737. Liberator 0/120 made an unsuccessful Mk. 24 attack at 2159 on the 19th.

44
. PRO, ADM 199/2145, Interviews with Survivors, Captain S. Morris,
Aymeric
, 24th June, 1943, ff. 147–148.

45
. NHB/MOD, Assessments, f. 32, and notation by R. M. Coppock; also Coppock, “Loss of U 381, U 640, U 657 and U 258 in May 1943,” FDS 442.

46
. PRO, ADM 237/203, Report of Proceedings—S.C.130. Comments of Senior Officer, Close Escort.

47
. Ibid., Report of Attack on U-Boat, H.M.S.
Duncan
, 19 May 1943, 0130.

48
. Bundesarchiv-Militärarchiv, Bestand RM 7/755, X-B Bericht No. 21/43 Woche vom 17.5–23.5.1943, f. 159r. Cf. NARA, KTB-BdU, 17 May 1943.

49
. PRO, ADM 223/15, Operational Intelligence Centre Special Intelligence Summary, 10.5.43–17.5.43, f. 198.

50
. PRO, ADM 237/203, Remarks by Commodore (D), Western Approaches [Simpson], S.C.130., 12 June 1943.

51
. NARA, KTB-BdU, 17 May 1943. The first U-boat to sight and report SC.130 was
U-304
(Oblt.z.S. Heinz Koch) in Qu AK 4675 early on 19 May.

52
. PRO, AIR 27/911, RAF Form 541, No. 120 Squadron, 19.5.43, Liberator III T/120. Gretton was annoyed that this aircraft did not keep in better communication with him, but the pilot’s after-action report states that he informed Gretton of each sighting.

53
. NHB/MOD, Assessments, ff. 37,38, 38A, and notations by R. M. Coppock;
Coppock to author, “Loss of U 954 and Others in May 1943,” London, by hand, 13 November 1996. Most authorities, going back to Peyton Ward, have written that U
-954
was sunk by Liberator T/120's attack at 0534 on 19 May in position 55°09'N, 35°18
W
. But Coppock has shown that this could not have been the case since U
-954
transmitted a (nondistress) signal at 0811 that day, over two and a half hours after T/120's attack. It should be noted that after EGI joined the convoy,
Kitchener
was detached to reinforce Convoy ON.184, as per orders from CinCWA; PRO, ADM 237/203, Convoy SC.130, Appendix D.

54
. The loss of U–954 was mentioned matter-of-factly in NARA, KTB-BdU, 20 May 1943. Dönitz’s older son, Oblt.z.S. Klaus Dönitz, was killed a year later, on 14 May 1943, when an S-boat on which he was a passenger was sunk by a Free French destroyer.

55
. NHB/MOD, Assessments, f. 308, and notation by R. M. Coppock.

56
. R. M. Coppock, “Loss of U 381, U 640, U 657 and U 258 in May 1943,” FDS 442.

57
. PRO, ADM 237/203, Reports of Attacks on U-Boats, Convoy SC.130.

58
. R. M. Coppock, “Loss of U 381, U 640, U 657 and U 258 in May 1943,” FDS 442; NHB/MOD, Assessments, f. 34, and notations by Coppock.

59
. NHB/MOD, Assessments, ff. 39, 40, and notations by R. M. Coppock.

60
. PRO, ADM 237/203, Convoy SC.130. No count is given in the record of
Zamalek’s
HF/DF contacts other than her first at 2219 on the 18th.

61
. NARA, KTB-BdU, 19, 20 May 1943. A “Frog” search was astern of convoy to a distance of so many miles. An “Adder” search was ahead of convoy to a distance of 8–12 miles. A “Viper” search was a square flight around the convoy at visibility distance. When an aircraft searched down a DF bearing it was called a “Mamba.”

62
. NHB/MOD, Assessments, f. 312, and notations by Coppock; PRO, AIR 27/911, RAF Form 541, Liberator I P/120, 20 May 1943.

63
. PRO, AIR 27/911, RAF Form 541, Liberator I P/120, 20 May 1943; telephone conversation with R. M. Coppock, 11 November 1997. For a description of the Mark I 600-lb. A.S.
bomb
see CAB 86/4, Report on Progress of Development of Anti-U-Boat Weapons May 1943, f. 130.

64
. NHB/MOD, Assessments, f. 312, and notations of R. M. Coppock. On the day before, Liberator T/120 dropped two “600 lb.D.C.'s” in its attack on U-731, as recorded by its pilot Flight Sergeant S. W. Stoves; PRO, AIR 27/911, R.A.F. Form 541, Liberator III T/120, 19 May 1943. For U
-418
also see NHB/MOD, Assessments, f. 309, and notation by R. M. Coppock; and Peyton
Ward, “R.A.F. in the Maritime War,” Vol. Ill, p. 65.
U-418
was destroyed by R.P. (Rocket Projectiles), described below.

65
. PRO, ADM 199/2020, Analysis of U-Boat Operations in the Vicinity of Convoy S.C.130. 18th-21st May 1943, p. 3; PRO, ADM 237/203, S.C.130—Report of Proceedings, p. 3.

66
. PRO, DEFE-3, reel 718, TOI 0337, 20 May 1943, decrypted 20 May 1943.

67
. PRO, ADM 199/2020, Analysis of U-Boat Operations in the Vicinity of Convoy S.C. 130. 18th-21st May 1943, pp. 2–3.

68
. PRO, ADM 237/203, Convoy SC.130.

69
. Three Commanders from the
Donau II
line are reported to be still alive on the roster of the Verband Deutscher U-Boot-fahrer, but the writer and his research assistant in Germany have not been able to locate them.

70
. “To enjoy fair winds, then foul.”

71
. NHB/MOD, Assessments, f. 41, notation by R. M. Coppock. The British submarine sunk by U
-123
(von Schroeter) on 18 April was
P. 615,
the former
Uluc Ali Reis
built for Turkey and taken over by the RN. Interview with Horst von Schroeter, Bonn, 26 December 1995.

72
. A concise presentation of this point is given in Montgomery C. Meigs,
Slide Rules and Submarines,
pp. 90–96. Despite the deployment of “Hunter-Killer Groups”—the pioneer such group centered around the escort carrier U.S.S.
Bogue
is discussed below—Colonel Meigs contends that King never did accept the idea of an offensive strategy; pp. 92–95. The author gives a short account of the Antisubmarine Warfare Operational Research Group (ASWORG), the USN’s counterpart to O.R.S. at RAF Coastal Command and CAOR at the Admiralty; pp. 58–62,195, 216–217.

73
. NARA, Modern Military Branch [hereafter MMB], Action Report, U.S.S.
Bogue,
7 May 1943, Escort of Convoy HX.235, Enclosure “B”. YBlood,
Hunter-Killer,
pp. 34–35.
Bogue
was the name ship of 44 escort carriers, including 33 that were transferred to the RN; ibid., p. 280. Four other U.S. escort carriers, U.S.S.
Sangamon, Santee, Suwannee,
and
Chenango,
were employed for various tasks during the Torch invasions of North Africa in November 1942, but
Bogue
was “the U.S. Navy’s first aircraft carrier used in support of convoys”; pp. 12–28, 35. That the four aforementioned ACVs were not deployed to the transatlantic convoy lanes directly after Torch is criticized by Syrett,
Defeat of the German U-Boats,
who states that “the failure to commit escort carriers to close the Greenland air gap shows, at best, the Allies’ lack of understanding of the importance of the Battle of the Atlantic”; p. 17. Perhaps
Americans
would be the better word than
Allies'.
Syrett reports that most of the escort carriers were sent to the Pacific; p. 17.

74
. NARA; MMB, U.S.S. BOGUE (CVE-9), Report Escort of Convoy ON.184, Enclosure “A,” Discussion of Anti Submarine Tactics; Escort of Convoy HX.235, Enclosure “B.”

75
. “Wildcats and Avengers: The History of Composite Squadron Nine,” typewritten document of the U.S.S.
Bogue
CVE-9 Reunion Association, pp. 3–5; and NARA, MMB, Action Report, U.S.S. BOGUE, Escort of Convoy HX.235, where the correct figure of six (6) Wildcats as the new fighter complement is given; Enclosure C, p. 1.

76
. NARA, MMB, Action Report, U.S.S. BOGUE, Escort of Convoy HX.235, Enclosure C, p. 1.

77
. Bundesarchiv-Militärarchiv, Bestand RM 7/755, X-B Bericht No. 21/43 Woche vom 17.5–23.5.1943, f. 158r. Cf. NARA, KTB-BdU, 19 May 1943. The patrol line was established from AJ 6417 (55° 15'N, 44° 25'W) to AK 7559 (52°15'N, 37°35'W), effective 2000 on 21 May; radio silence to be observed. NARA, RG 457, SRGN 18625.

78
. These positions as decrypted by B-Dienst were: 49°28'N, 43°47W at 1700 [GST] on the 20th, 50°27‘N, 38°
i
6’
W
at 1700 on the 21st, and 52°12‘N, 33°28
‘W
on the 22nd.

79
. NARA, RG 457, SRGN 18695; Syrett,
Defeat of the U-Boats
, p. 135. Some Group
Donau
boats were also directed toward Convoy HX.239.

80
. Bundesarchiv-Militärarchiv, Bestand RM 7/755, X-B Bericht No. 21/43, Woche vom 17.5–23.5.1943, f. 159v.

81
. PRO, ADM 237/100, Convoy ON.184: Report of Antisubmarine Action by Aircraft, TBF-1 No. 11, 21 May 1943. NARA, Roll 2938 KTB-U-231, 13.4.-30.5.43, pp. 22–23. Wenzel recorded that the attack, by a single-engine carrier aircraft, took place at 2120 in AK 7936 (53°15'N, 35°3o’W).

82
. PRO, ADM 237/100, Convoy ON.184: Report of Antisubmarine Action by Aircraft, TBF-1 No. 2, 0635 22 May 1943. Lt. Richard S. Rogers, flying F4F4 No. 13, made a sighting at 0805, but the boat dived before he could strafe it.