German submarine U-415
Encyclopedia
German submarine U-415 was a Type VIIC U-boat
built for the German Kriegsmarine
for service during World War II
. She was commissioned on 5 August 1942 and completed eight war patrols before being sunk by a mine on 14 July 1944.
Her first Commanding Officer was Kapitänleutnant Kurt Neide. He took her on five patrols between March 1943 and March 1944. Her second and last CO was Oberleutnant
Herbert Werner, who completed three patrols in her between April and July 1944.
in Norway in February and March, 1943.
where she torpedoed, but did not sink, the British ship Wanstead on 21 April. The ship was sailing in ballast, (the coup de grace was administered by ). The boat then sailed for Brest
in France, but was attacked west of the Bay of Biscay
on 1 May; first by a Handley Page Halifax
of 502 squadron RAF
and later that the same day by a Whitley
from 612 squadron, also RAF. She was damaged, but managed to reach her destination on 5 May.
Her second sortie began in the company of and . The small flotilla
was detected by a RAF Whitley on 14 June 1943 off the northwest coast of Spain, but the aircraft only attacked when the trio dived. No damage was sustained. The boat was also attacked by a corvette
off the coast of Trinidad
on 24 July, while hunting a convoy.
Her third patrol, beginning on 27 October 1943, was marred by the attack of a Vickers Wellington
equipped with a Leigh Light
off Cape Ortegal in the Bay of Biscay on 30 October. The aircraft dropped four depth charge
s which caused enough damage to ensure that the submarine was compelled to return to base. The Wellington was shot down during the action, all six crew members were killed.
. Hurricane was crippled by a GNAT
torpedo and had to be finished off the following day. On her return journey U-415 was attacked by a Halifax of 58 squadron RAF, on 5 January 1944. The aircraft dropped six depth charges on the U-boat which returned fire before diving. The submarine reached her home port the following day.
U-415s fifth patrol came to a sudden halt in mid-Atlantic when she was attacked on 16 March 1944 by aircraft and ships escorting convoy CU 17
. The boat was severely damaged and returned to Brest on 31 March.
as (according to Werner's flotilla commander): "we have temporarily suspended our long patrols into the Atlantic in favor of shorter operations into areas where the convoy routes converge". She had left Brest on 11 April 1944 and endured a series of aerial assaults; the non - schnorkel equipped boat establishing a grim routine of diving and surfacing (to charge batteries) until the third day of her patrol when she began stalking a convoy. Having manoeuvred into position, she fired a total of five torpedoes and scored three hits. The response was swift; over the next 37 hours a succession of some 300 depth charges were dropped, all to no avail. An hour after the last escort withdrew, U-415 surfaced. Not long afterwards, she dived again, to the relatively shallow depth of 25 m (82 ft) where among the mass of radio messages she received was one ordering her to return to base.
U-415s next outing was not really a patrol at all. Werner had been recalled to help counter the long expected Allied invasion
of France.The boat had been put in dry dock for an overhaul while the skipper tried to arrange the fitting of a schnorkel (he was unsuccessful). U-415 received two messages from BdU (U-boat headquarters); the first, which instructed all boats to:
The second was just as dramatic for U-415 and the other non-schnorkel equipped boats:
The submarine was then part of an eight-boat procession out of Brest harbour. Almost immediately they came under attack from the air. U-413 and were crippled; nor did U-415 escape damage, her starboard engine was knocked off its mounting and a fuel tank was ruptured, although she shot a Liberator down. The damage was serious enough to warrant an immediate return to Brest. But it was not that easy. U-415, which had cautiously dived, was blind, both periscopes were out of action; she ran into rocks off the Brittany coast. Extricating herself with difficulty, she surfaced and headed for home. An aircraft sighting, closer than most, forced the vessel to dive once more. The boat, with all power lost, hit the bottom at 42 m (137.8 ft). Werner decided to surface once more, in the hope of meeting a friendly escort. In an effort to free the submarine from the ocean floor, he ordered all men forward, then aft After several attempts and all tanks being blown with their diminishing supply of compressed air, U-415 reluctantly came free and broke the surface. She then limped into port.
U-415s Chief Engineer had a list of nearly 500 repairs which was reduced to 55 due to the lack of spares and time. It was also decided to cannibalise U-256 for the benefit of U-413 and U-415, leaving just two U-boats in Brest.
U-415s loss was preceded by a sally into the waters 80 mi (128.7 km) west of her home port. No ships of any description were sighted, but the air threat was ever present. Following an exchange of radio messages, U-415 was directed to return to Brest where she was given just three days to prepare for her next patrol. Werner, who had "not slept for ten days", was woken on 14 July by a steward; as he was moving from his accommodation to the harbour and preparing to reprimand his Executive Officer for moving U-415 without his authorization, a tremendous explosion rocked the area. The boat had activated a mine and sank soon afterwards. Two men died and 14 were wounded.
U-boat
U-boat is the anglicized version of the German word U-Boot , itself an abbreviation of Unterseeboot , and refers to military submarines operated by Germany, particularly in World War I and World War II...
built for the German Kriegsmarine
Kriegsmarine
The Kriegsmarine was the name of the German Navy during the Nazi regime . It superseded the Kaiserliche Marine of World War I and the post-war Reichsmarine. The Kriegsmarine was one of three official branches of the Wehrmacht, the unified armed forces of Nazi Germany.The Kriegsmarine grew rapidly...
for service during World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
. She was commissioned on 5 August 1942 and completed eight war patrols before being sunk by a mine on 14 July 1944.
Her first Commanding Officer was Kapitänleutnant Kurt Neide. He took her on five patrols between March 1943 and March 1944. Her second and last CO was Oberleutnant
Oberleutnant
Oberleutnant is a junior officer rank in the militaries of Germany, Switzerland and Austria. In the German Army, it dates from the early 19th century. Translated as "Senior Lieutenant", the rank is typically bestowed upon commissioned officers after five to six years of active duty...
Herbert Werner, who completed three patrols in her between April and July 1944.
Beginning
These war patrols were preceded by a trip to BergenBergen
Bergen is the second largest city in Norway with a population of as of , . Bergen is the administrative centre of Hordaland county. Greater Bergen or Bergen Metropolitan Area as defined by Statistics Norway, has a population of as of , ....
in Norway in February and March, 1943.
First, second and third patrols
Her first patrol saw her leave Bergen on 7 March 1943 and took her to an area south of GreenlandGreenland
Greenland is an autonomous country within the Kingdom of Denmark, located between the Arctic and Atlantic Oceans, east of the Canadian Arctic Archipelago. Though physiographically a part of the continent of North America, Greenland has been politically and culturally associated with Europe for...
where she torpedoed, but did not sink, the British ship Wanstead on 21 April. The ship was sailing in ballast, (the coup de grace was administered by ). The boat then sailed for Brest
Brest, France
Brest is a city in the Finistère department in Brittany in northwestern France. Located in a sheltered position not far from the western tip of the Breton peninsula, and the western extremity of metropolitan France, Brest is an important harbour and the second French military port after Toulon...
in France, but was attacked west of the Bay of Biscay
Bay of Biscay
The Bay of Biscay is a gulf of the northeast Atlantic Ocean located south of the Celtic Sea. It lies along the western coast of France from Brest south to the Spanish border, and the northern coast of Spain west to Cape Ortegal, and is named in English after the province of Biscay, in the Spanish...
on 1 May; first by a Handley Page Halifax
Handley Page Halifax
The Handley Page Halifax was one of the British front-line, four-engined heavy bombers of the Royal Air Force during the Second World War. A contemporary of the famous Avro Lancaster, the Halifax remained in service until the end of the war, performing a variety of duties in addition to bombing...
of 502 squadron RAF
Royal Air Force
The Royal Air Force is the aerial warfare service branch of the British Armed Forces. Formed on 1 April 1918, it is the oldest independent air force in the world...
and later that the same day by a Whitley
Armstrong Whitworth Whitley
The Armstrong Whitworth A.W.38 Whitley was one of three British twin-engine, front line medium bomber types in service with the Royal Air Force at the outbreak of the Second World War...
from 612 squadron, also RAF. She was damaged, but managed to reach her destination on 5 May.
Her second sortie began in the company of and . The small flotilla
Flotilla
A flotilla , or naval flotilla, is a formation of small warships that may be part of a larger fleet. A flotilla is usually composed of a homogeneous group of the same class of warship, such as frigates, destroyers, torpedo boats, submarines, gunboats, or minesweepers...
was detected by a RAF Whitley on 14 June 1943 off the northwest coast of Spain, but the aircraft only attacked when the trio dived. No damage was sustained. The boat was also attacked by a corvette
Corvette
A corvette is a small, maneuverable, lightly armed warship, originally smaller than a frigate and larger than a coastal patrol craft or fast attack craft , although many recent designs resemble frigates in size and role...
off the coast of Trinidad
Trinidad
Trinidad is the larger and more populous of the two major islands and numerous landforms which make up the island nation of Trinidad and Tobago. It is the southernmost island in the Caribbean and lies just off the northeastern coast of Venezuela. With an area of it is also the fifth largest in...
on 24 July, while hunting a convoy.
Her third patrol, beginning on 27 October 1943, was marred by the attack of a Vickers Wellington
Vickers Wellington
The Vickers Wellington was a British twin-engine, long range medium bomber designed in the mid-1930s at Brooklands in Weybridge, Surrey, by Vickers-Armstrongs' Chief Designer, R. K. Pierson. It was widely used as a night bomber in the early years of the Second World War, before being displaced as a...
equipped with a Leigh Light
Leigh light
The Leigh Light was a British World War II era anti-submarine device used in the Second Battle of the Atlantic.It was a powerful carbon arc searchlight of 24 inches diameter fitted to a number of the British Royal Air Force's Coastal Command patrol bombers to help them spot surfaced...
off Cape Ortegal in the Bay of Biscay on 30 October. The aircraft dropped four depth charge
Depth charge
A depth charge is an anti-submarine warfare weapon intended to destroy or cripple a target submarine by the shock of exploding near it. Most use explosives and a fuze set to go off at a preselected depth in the ocean. Depth charges can be dropped by either surface ships, patrol aircraft, or from...
s which caused enough damage to ensure that the submarine was compelled to return to base. The Wellington was shot down during the action, all six crew members were killed.
Fourth and fifth patrols
Her fourth operational effort was rewarded by the sinking of the "H"-class destroyer . U-415 encountered the warship on Christmas Eve (24 December) 1943 northeast of the AzoresAzores
The Archipelago of the Azores is composed of nine volcanic islands situated in the middle of the North Atlantic Ocean, and is located about west from Lisbon and about east from the east coast of North America. The islands, and their economic exclusion zone, form the Autonomous Region of the...
. Hurricane was crippled by a GNAT
G7es torpedo
The G7es or Zaunkönig T-5 was a torpedo employed by German U-boats during World War II. It was known as the GNAT to the British.- Description :...
torpedo and had to be finished off the following day. On her return journey U-415 was attacked by a Halifax of 58 squadron RAF, on 5 January 1944. The aircraft dropped six depth charges on the U-boat which returned fire before diving. The submarine reached her home port the following day.
U-415s fifth patrol came to a sudden halt in mid-Atlantic when she was attacked on 16 March 1944 by aircraft and ships escorting convoy CU 17
CU convoys
The CU convoys were a World War II series of fast trans-Atlantic convoys to the British Isles. The earliest convoys of the series were tankers sailing directly from petroleum refineries at Curaçao to the United Kingdom...
. The boat was severely damaged and returned to Brest on 31 March.
Sixth, seventh and eighth patrols
U-415s sixth patrol was even shorter. By now under the command of Oberleutnant Herbert Werner, the boat moved into the relatively shallow water of the Western ApproachesWestern Approaches
The Western Approaches is a rectangular area of the Atlantic ocean lying on the western coast of Great Britain. The rectangle is higher than it is wide, the north and south boundaries defined by the north and south ends of the British Isles, the eastern boundary lying on the western coast, and the...
as (according to Werner's flotilla commander): "we have temporarily suspended our long patrols into the Atlantic in favor of shorter operations into areas where the convoy routes converge". She had left Brest on 11 April 1944 and endured a series of aerial assaults; the non - schnorkel equipped boat establishing a grim routine of diving and surfacing (to charge batteries) until the third day of her patrol when she began stalking a convoy. Having manoeuvred into position, she fired a total of five torpedoes and scored three hits. The response was swift; over the next 37 hours a succession of some 300 depth charges were dropped, all to no avail. An hour after the last escort withdrew, U-415 surfaced. Not long afterwards, she dived again, to the relatively shallow depth of 25 m (82 ft) where among the mass of radio messages she received was one ordering her to return to base.
U-415s next outing was not really a patrol at all. Werner had been recalled to help counter the long expected Allied invasion
D-Day
D-Day is a term often used in military parlance to denote the day on which a combat attack or operation is to be initiated. "D-Day" often represents a variable, designating the day upon which some significant event will occur or has occurred; see Military designation of days and hours for similar...
of France.The boat had been put in dry dock for an overhaul while the skipper tried to arrange the fitting of a schnorkel (he was unsuccessful). U-415 received two messages from BdU (U-boat headquarters); the first, which instructed all boats to:
ATTACK AND SINK [the] INVASION FLEET WITH THE FINAL OBJECTIVE OF DESTROYING ENEMY SHIPS BY RAMMING.It was received before the landings.
The second was just as dramatic for U-415 and the other non-schnorkel equipped boats:
...PROCEED ON SURFACE AT TOP SPEED TO [southwestern] ENGLISH COAST...ATTACK AND DESTROY ALLIED SHIPPING.It was received after the invasion.
The submarine was then part of an eight-boat procession out of Brest harbour. Almost immediately they came under attack from the air. U-413 and were crippled; nor did U-415 escape damage, her starboard engine was knocked off its mounting and a fuel tank was ruptured, although she shot a Liberator down. The damage was serious enough to warrant an immediate return to Brest. But it was not that easy. U-415, which had cautiously dived, was blind, both periscopes were out of action; she ran into rocks off the Brittany coast. Extricating herself with difficulty, she surfaced and headed for home. An aircraft sighting, closer than most, forced the vessel to dive once more. The boat, with all power lost, hit the bottom at 42 m (137.8 ft). Werner decided to surface once more, in the hope of meeting a friendly escort. In an effort to free the submarine from the ocean floor, he ordered all men forward, then aft After several attempts and all tanks being blown with their diminishing supply of compressed air, U-415 reluctantly came free and broke the surface. She then limped into port.
U-415s Chief Engineer had a list of nearly 500 repairs which was reduced to 55 due to the lack of spares and time. It was also decided to cannibalise U-256 for the benefit of U-413 and U-415, leaving just two U-boats in Brest.
U-415s loss was preceded by a sally into the waters 80 mi (128.7 km) west of her home port. No ships of any description were sighted, but the air threat was ever present. Following an exchange of radio messages, U-415 was directed to return to Brest where she was given just three days to prepare for her next patrol. Werner, who had "not slept for ten days", was woken on 14 July by a steward; as he was moving from his accommodation to the harbour and preparing to reprimand his Executive Officer for moving U-415 without his authorization, a tremendous explosion rocked the area. The boat had activated a mine and sank soon afterwards. Two men died and 14 were wounded.