3 Squadron Stories

The Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF)
Fighting the U-Boats

'Caught on the Surface'.  The sinking of U-461 by RAAF Sunderland "U" of 461 Squadron RAAF,
 in the Bay of Biscay in July 1943.  [As depicted by aviation artist Robert Taylor.]

INTRODUCTION

Although Australia is located at the opposite end of the Earth from the North Atlantic Ocean [quite literally!], Australian airmen were heavily involved in the 'Battle of the Atlantic'.  This was one of the key battles of World War II.  It commenced on the very first day of the war in Europe in 1939, raged to a decisive peak in May 1943, and was only finally terminated by V.E. Day in May 1945. 

Australia's commitment (of around 5,000 Australian airmen) arose from two decisions made early in the war: 
1) In September 1939, the RAAF happened to have a batch of nine Short Sunderland flying boats under construction in the UK.  When war broke out, Australia supported Britain by committing these flying boats, with their Australian crews (No.10 Squadron RAAF) to anti-U-boat patrols in British waters. 
2) At the same time, the British 'Dominion' countries (including Australia, New Zealand, Canada and Rhodesia) were being organised into a massive Empire Aircrew Training Scheme.  Under this scheme, individual RAAF aircrew could typically find themselves receiving basic training in Australia, followed by advanced training in a second country (such as Canada) and operational conversion training with RAF units in Britain.  This global system produced a sustained flow of Australians into Europe even after the Japanese attacked in the Pacific in 1941.  It was originally expected that all of the Australian aircrew arriving in Britain would be used to form predominantly 'Australian' squadrons.  While this did indeed happen for around half of the RAAF manpower supplied to Europe, the other half were randomly allocated as replacements throughout the (British) Royal Air Force.  As a result, many RAAF airmen played important roles in U-boat sinkings (in an amazing diversity of environments) that have historically been classified as 'British' successes.

The chronology below lists 33 sinkings of Axis submarines and eleven other significant actions where RAAF airmen made a major contribution.  Illustrations are mainly sourced from the Australian War Memorial in Canberra (AWM).

NOTABLE RAAF SUCCESSES AGAINST THE U-BOATS IN WW2

1940

An Early Morale-Boost
U-26 Scuttled Under Pressure
1 July 1940

U-26 attacked a convoy southwest of the Scilly Isles and was damaged by the corvette HMS Gladiolus.  The U-boat tried to escape on the surface, but was then twice attacked with depth-charges by an Australian Sunderland, aircraft 'H' of 10 Squadron RAAF [abbreviated 10/H], piloted by Flight Lieutenant Bill GIBSON.  With the Naval escort catching up, the captain of U-26 then decided to scuttle his boat.  All of his crew were picked up by HMS Rochester.  This sinking occurred about 300 miles SSW of the 10 Squadron base at Mount Batten, near Plymouth on the south-western coast of England.

[Left:] The Sunderland's depth-charges explode near U-26 - well outside lethal range, but they did serve to convince the U-boat crew of the hopelessness of their situation.
[Right:]  A painting of the action from the Australian War Memorial.
 

[Click here for an interesting selection of propaganda photos of Sunderlands of RAAF No.10 Squadron and their base,
taken in July 1940, including several cheesy portraits of Gibson.]

 

1941

"Submerged" History Brought to the Surface!
Italian Submarine Alessandro Malaspina Sunk
10 September 1941

Italian historian Lorenzo Colombo has recently sent us the details of a long-neglected RAAF success against the Italian submarine Alessandro Malaspina by Sunderland W3986, aircraft “U” of 10 Squadron RAAF, captained by Flt. Lt. Athol WEARNE.  (At the time the Sunderland crew believed they had made an unsuccessful attack on the German U-77, because of markings on the hull.)  

This victory re-writes Australian official history - becoming the first Axis submarine sunk solely by the RAAF.

On September 7th, 1941, Malaspina had left Bordeaux for a patrol west of Gibraltar, but she was never heard of again.  After the war it was mistakenly assumed that she had been sunk on 24 September 1941 by HMS Vimy, but it was later discovered that Vimy had actually attacked, and heavily damaged, the Italian submarine Luigi Torelli, a sister boat to the Malaspina.  In 2004 the researchers Axel Niestlè and Eric Zimmerman concluded that the attack by Sunderland 10/U of the RAAF must actually have been fatal against the Malaspina. 

On 10th September, seven hours into a Biscay anti-submarine patrol from their Mount Batten base, the crew of Sunderland 10/U discovered Malaspina on the surface, at midday, only one mile off their port bow, in hazy conditions.  The Sunderland was flying too high to execute an immediate attack and while manoeuvring into position, Malaspina began to submerge.  However its shape was still visible beneath the surface when Wearne finally dropped three depth-charges along the line of the submarine's wash.  Direct hits were estimated aft and forward of the conning tower, and subsequently a large reddish-brown patch appeared some 100 yards from the explosions.  The 4th depth-charge had not released due to a mechanical fault, and a second attack was made, but although the bomb dropped from its carrier this time, it failed to explode. 

Wearne remained in the area for a further three hours and was then relieved by another Sunderland, but nothing further was seen.  Malaspina was lost with all hands (60 crew).

Plymouth, England. C. 1940-07.  Portrait of Flying Officer A. G. H. WEARNE (left) and Flight Lieutenant H. BIRCH, pilots of
No. 10 Squadron RAAF, based at RAF Station Mount Batten, which operates Sunderland aircraft with RAF Coastal Command. 

1942

The "Anzac" Squadron
Foundation of 461 (Sunderland) Squadron RAAF
25 April 1942

Australia's maritime patrol forces in Britain were doubled with the establishment of a new Australian flying-boat Squadron, No.461, in Britain on Anzac Day 1942.  A significant nucleus of experienced airmen from No.10 Squadron came across to 461.

461 Squadron Badge, from the RAAF Museum.

 

Leigh-Light Debut
Italian Submarine Luigi Torelli Survives to Fight Another Day
3 and 7 June 1942

Eight months after surviving its damaging encounter with HMS Vimy, Luigi Torelli became the first Axis submarine detected by the 'Leigh-Light' airborne searchlight, on the night of 3 June 1942.  An Australian, Pilot Officer Allan TRIGGS, was the Second Pilot of the No.172 Squadron RAF Wellington that delivered this pioneering attack in the Bay of Biscay.  They seriously damaged the submarine.  Torelli's Captain ran it aground near the Spanish coast to prevent it sinking.  The submarine was then rescued by Spanish tugs and Torelli's crew made some emergency repairs over the next few days.

Allan TRIGGS (centre, wearing officer's cap) and his Leigh-Light Wellington crew - pictured in August 1942,
after surviving a dramatic rescue experience.  Their Wellington suffered engine failure at night over the
Bay of Biscay and Triggs successfully ditched in complete darkness.  Triggs then personally rescued his
Second Pilot, released a malfunctioning liferaft and swam to retrieve their vital emergency supplies, which
they had to depend on for the next five days in the liferaft.  (Triggs was later awarded an MBE for his
lifesaving efforts, adding to his DFC for his anti-submarine work.) 
Tragically, RAAF Sunderland 461/B, while trying to alight on the ocean surface to pick them up, crashed. 
Almost all of the Sunderland's crew were lost (including 461 Squadron's Commanding Officer). 
A further Coastal Command Whitley sent to contact them was also shot down by a German Arado
floatplane, bringing the total of Allied fatalities on this rescue mission to the gruesome tally of 17. 
Triggs and his crew were finally rescued by a British High Speed Launch, HSL 180.  Even after
rescue, their tribulations continued; their launch had to fight off a strafing attack by six German aircraft. 

Four days on from its Leigh-Light ordeal, on 7 June, the damaged Torrelli was spotted limping through the Bay of Biscay (on the surface) by RAAF 10 Squadron Sunderland 10/X (pilot Tom EGERTON).  He attacked with depth-charges and then homed-in another Australian Sunderland, 10/A, flown by Flight Lieutenant Eddie YEOMAN.  The Australians expended a total of 16 depth-charges, however the submarine escaped destruction.  (In those days the depth-charges were closely-spaced and all dropped in one line, which could accentuate any slight errors in aiming.  Such wasteful attack doctrines were later corrected, following studies by British scientists.) 

One of Torelli's crewmen was killed and two officers wounded.  Both RAAF flying boats were seriously damaged by Torelli's gunners.  In total the aircraft sustained three personnel casualties before they withdrew.  To make matters worse, a German Arado 196 floatplane then attacked Yeoman's Sunderland and had to be driven off in a gun battle.  

The next day, Torelli was observed beached on the northern Spanish coast at Santander, with a large hole amidships.  The Italian crew frantically patched it up again.  They broke out of Spanish internment over one month later. 

Torelli then had a remarkably colourful career for the remainder of World War II.  It took six months to repair the damage from the air attacks.  Torelli then put to sea again, in 1943.  Soon afterwards it suffered another serious air attack and sustained casualties once again.  It limped home and was then modified to carry cargo to Asia.  After motoring around Africa to the Far East, carrying strategic war supplies for Japan, the submarine was docked in Singapore when the Italian nation surrendered in September 1943.  It was boarded by the Japanese and then handed over to the Germans at Penang, Malaya, as UIT-25.  Following the German surrender in May 1945 it was renamed I-504 by the Japanese and operated with the Imperial Japanese Navy until August 30th, 1945.  (Some of the original Italian crew served on the boat right through all of its various ownership changes.)  Italian sources suggest that Torelli / I-504 scored the last combat victory of any Japanese naval vessel in WW2, shooting down an American B-25 Mitchell bomber, but it has proven difficult to confirm this story.  (Torelli was moored in dock towards the end of the war, but its AA guns could have been utilised for port defence.)  

Only two months after their June 1942 attack on Luigi Torelli, 10 Squadron Sunderland pilot Edwin YEOMAN and his crew of 11 vanished on 9/8/42, whilst flying an anti-submarine patrol in the Bay of Biscay.  How they met their fate is still unknown.  Their Sunderland was the same one from the Torelli battle, 10/A, W4019.

 

Gun Drill
U-71 Damaged
5 June 1942

One example of the many inconclusive encounters between Australian aircraft and U-boats is recorded in a dramatic photo showing U-71 being strafed in the Bay of Biscay by RAAF Sunderland 10/U, piloted by Flight Lieutenant Sam WOOD.  U-71 was depth-charged whilst crash-diving and forced back to the surface.  The Sunderland was left with no further depth-charges.  10/U fired 2000 rounds of machinegun ammunition before U-71 eventually dived, trailing oil.  No-one was injured on the U-boat.

Shortly afterwards the Sunderland was engaged by a German FW200 Condor four-engined patrol plane.  In a running gun-battle lasting 75 minutes, these two large aircraft both sustained serious damage.

The sea boils around U-71.

Harpooned
Italian Submarine Sebastiano Veniero Sunk
7 June 1942

There is fresh information from Italian researcher Lorenzo Colombo about the sinking of the Sebastiano Veniero in the Mediterranean between Majorca and Sardinia on June 7th 1942.  Veniero was lost with all hands to an attack from a PBY Catalina of 202 RAF Squadron, piloted by Australian Flt. Lt. Robert CORRIE.  This was the second time that Veniero had been attacked on that day.

In early June 1942 an upsurge of U-boat activity was evident in the western Mediterranean, a grim portent for the (disastrous) British attempt to pass a convoy of six fast cargo ships from Gibraltar to Malta ['Operation Harpoon'].  A detachment of No.10 Squadron RAAF Sunderland flying boats was positioned at Gibraltar to aid in preliminary patrols to disrupt enemy reconnaissance positions athwart the proposed convoy track.  

At 4 a.m. on 7th June 1942, during one of these preventive patrols, the Sunderland crew of Flight Lieutenant Reg MARKS received radar indications that led them to the position of Veniero.  Their depth-charges fell 30 yards abeam as Marks dived into an impressive column of light-calibre gunfire.  As he climbed away, the submarine opened up with its heavy gun and damaged the Sunderland's starboard-outer engine.   A lively gun duel then ensued between aircraft and submarine, before excessive vibration of the damaged engine made it expedient for Marks to return to Gibraltar. 

Plymouth, England.  C. 1943-04.  477 Squadron Leader Reginald Marks of Norwood, SA,
Flight Commander of No. 10 (Sunderland) Squadron RAAF based at the RAF Station Mount Batten and
Aircraftwoman Gloria Dickinson of Canada, Women's Auxiliary Air Force, who serves at the same Station,
have just got engaged.

At about midday on that same day, some 60 miles farther east, a 202 Squadron RAF Catalina, flown by RAAF Flying Officer Robin Corrie, homed onto the surfaced Veniero from 16 miles away, employing skilful radar technique through cloud.  An initial attack was aborted due to the Catalina's depth-charge racks failing to roll-out properly.  Corrie turned away and an exchange of gunfire ensued with the Veniero, which wounded one of the Catalina gunners, Sgt. Lee.  Returning to the attack, only half of Corrie's depth-charges released and the remainder "hung-up", but he dropped these in a further run, just after the submarine submerged.  He was rewarded with the sight of a rapidly-growing oil patch accompanied by foam and air bubbles over the position of the submarine.  Corrie then flew to a neutral Spanish port in the Balearic Islands to get medical treatment for his crewmember, after which he returned to the oil patch to patrol further.  However the Veniero was never seen again.  She had gone down with all hands.

[The Australian official history previously credited the sinking of the Veniero to Catalina ‘J’ of 240 Squadron RAF on 9 June, 35 miles southwest of Ibiza.  However the actual victim of that attack was the Italian submarine Zaffiro.]

Darwin, Northern Territory, 7 April 1945.  An informal portrait of Flight
Lieutenant R. M. Corrie of Manly, NSW, Captain of a Catalina aircraft
of No. 112 (Air Sea Rescue) Squadron RAAF.  In 1945 Corrie was awarded
with a Distinguished Flying Cross for a skillful rescue in Japanese waters.

Cloud Cover
U-105 Damaged
11 June 1942

U-105 was located on the surface of the Bay of Biscay during daylight by a RAAF Sunderland (10/R) flown by Flight Lieutenant Eric MARTIN.  This was during the difficult period for U-boat commanders when they were threatened with Leigh-Light attacks by night, but had not yet been equipped with the Metox radar detector.  Many U-boats chose to surface in daylight for battery-charging during these weeks, when they had a better chance of seeing an attacker in time to make a crash dive.  Martin flew a radar approach using low cloud cover and then made a surprise depth-charge attack.  While this attack was not fatal, the badly-damaged U-boat was left listing with grey smoke issuing.  U-105 had to take refuge in El Ferrol, Spain. 

Martin's depth-charges explode as U-105 slips away.

[Martin was killed in action with his entire crew only six weeks later when Sunderland W3994 10/X disappeared on patrol.  Historians believe it was shot down by an Arado 196 floatplane.]

 

Rear Access
Italian Submarine Alabastro Sunk
14 September 1942

A Sunderland flying boat of RAF 202 Squadron, flying from Gibraltar, happened across the Italian submarine Alabastro in the western Mediterranean, northeast of Algiers.  The Sunderland was piloted by RAAF Flight Lieutenant E. P. WALSHE.  At 2.30 p.m., when flying at 800 feet, he sighted a grey-green submarine that made no attempt to submerge as the aircraft closed the range.  Alabastro stayed on the surface and fought with guns, but a careful approach from the rear by Walshe unsighted some of the Italian gunners.  Precise suppressive fire from the Sunderland gunners then allowed an accurate depth-charge drop to be made.  Alabastro gushed oil and stopped dead.  The boat sank bow-first after half an hour, leaving 40 unfortunate Italian crew in the water, none of whom survived.

Walshe received his DFC at Buckingham Palace.

Chicago Bound
U-505 Damaged and a Hudson Lost
10 November 1942

This incident, which occurred in the Caribbean approaches, south-east of Trinidad, is notable because it involved one of the best-known U-boats, U-505. The boat was attacked by a twin-engined RAF Hudson patrol bomber, operated by an unusually diverse multinational crew.

Hudson 'L' of RAF 53 Squadron had on board one American, one Australian (the pilot, F/Sgt R. R. SILLCOCK), two Britons and a New Zealander.  All were killed during their attack on U-505, when one of their depth-charges detonated on the deck-planking of the boat.  The overflying Hudson was caught in the blast and crashed into the sea.  U-505 suffered two wounded personnel during this attack, plus some spectacular damage, but was able to limp all the way back across the Atlantic to Lorient. 

Nearly two years later, in 1944, U-505 was captured in mid-Atlantic by the Americans.   It has become a famous walk-through exhibit at the Chicago Museum of Science and Industry.  [See photos of the preserved U-505.]

 
Hudsons of 53 Squadron flying to the aid of America (left) and U-505's damaged deck (right).

1943

Irredeemable
U-167 Scuttled
5 April 1943

While operating near the Canary Islands, U-167 was attacked by RAF Hudson 233/L, flown by RAAF Pilot Officer Kel DALTON.  The U-boat was seriously damaged.  Later that afternoon it was found stopped on the surface by another Hudson and attacked ineffectually with depth-charges.  At that stage, U-167 submerged with difficulty, but it was irredeemably damaged.  Soon after, it was scuttled near the south-west shore of Gran Canaria island.  All of the crew got off safely with the help of local fishing boats.

Closing the Gap
U-632 Sunk
6 April 1943

U-632 was surprised, and sunk, south-west of Iceland by Liberator 'R' of RAF 86 Squadron, which was escorting convoy HX231.  (These Very Long Range ("VLR") Liberators played a crucial role in closing the air-cover gap that had previously existed in the mid-Atlantic.)  This U-boat was spotted at a range of only one mile under very low cloud cover.  The Liberator pilot was RAAF Pilot Officer Cyril BURCHER, who attacked immediately; the huge Liberator passed over at an altitude of only 30 feet, but three depth-charges "hung-up" in the bomb-bay and only one released.  U-632 attempted to crash-dive, but Burcher quickly wheeled around and delivered a fatal second attack.  All of the U-632 crew perished with their boat.

Later in the same patrol, Burcher attacked another U-boat with his remaining two depth-charges. 

[Burcher was later to assist in the sinking of one further U-Boat , U-643.   - See the detailed entry for 8 October 1943, below.]

An amusing "Bluenose Certificate" issued to an Australian Liberator crewman operating in the Arctic.

Mistaken Victory
U-119 has a Temporary Escape
29 April 1943

This is one of the few cases where a U-Boat was incorrectly evaluated as "sunk" by the usually-conservative British Admiralty U-Boat Assessment Committee. 

U-119, a large "mine-laying" Type XB boat, was spotted through a gap in late-morning sea-fog over the Bay of Biscay, by the crew of Sunderland 461/P (JM676), who had been following an intermittent radar indication.  The boat alarm-dived before at attack could be delivered, but a smoke-float, radar reflector and marine dye were all dropped to mark the position.  When this spot was later checked by Sunderland 'F' of 10 Squadron RAAF, U-119 was caught re-surfacing.  Flying Officer GERRARD in 10/F attacked immediately with depth charges that left the U-Boat circling on the surface and defending itself with AA fire.  461/P then returned to the spot, alerted by radio.  Flying Officer GIPPS dived 461/P steeply and placed an accurate depth-charge attack, straddling U-119.  The U-boat stopped in the water and then submerged slowly, emitting oil and dramatic bursts of bubbles.  The Sunderland crew also counted "three" bodies floating on the surface. 

By coincidence, on that day 461/P had onboard a passenger - Air Vice Marshal BAKER, the Senior Air Staff Officer of Coastal Command - who described this attack in the book "RAAF Log".

However, U-119 had actually survived undamaged (although suffering one crewmember killed by gunfire) and it proceeded on its patrol to the Canadian coast, where it successfully laid mines that subsequently sank one Allied freighter and damaged another.  Ironically, upon returning on the 24th of June, U-119 was once again detected and this time definitely sunk (with total loss of life) by the sloop HMS Starling, in a very similar position to where the original Sunderland attacks had occurred.  - In retrospect, the low-flying Australian crews on 29 April were lucky not to have detonated the dozens of naval mines stored in the flanks of this large German submarine; such an explosion could have swatted the attacking aircraft out of the sky.

One month after this incident, the Sunderland pilot GIPPS was severely injured whilst attempting to alight on the open ocean for a rescue mission.  (However he survived the war...)

 
Bay of Biscay, 29 May 1943.  A RAAF Sunderland flying boat [461/E "Emu" T9114] assisted in the rescue of the crews of two other aircraft in the Bay of Biscay, receiving considerable damage in the process, and made history by landing on a grass airfield upon its return.  
The story begins when another RAAF Sunderland aircraft [461/O] was sent out to attempt to rescue the crew of a Whitley bomber who had been sighted in a dinghy 250 miles from land.  The Sunderland alighted on the sea in a cross-wind and sank, the captain being killed and the first pilot, 405404 Flying Officer R. GIPPS, severely injured.  The crew managed to eventually get themselves and the injured man into a single dinghy [F/Sgt Mackie was awarded a British Empire Medal for supporting Gipps in the water for 30 minutes] and made contact with the Whitley crew, eventually lashing the two dinghies together.  Next day, Sunderland 461/E located the dinghies and, alighting near them, managed, after careful manoeuvring, to get the two crews on board.  Unable to take off, they taxied for three hours until a Free-French destroyer, La Combattante, was directed to the spot by a Halifax and launched a boat [pictured] to take the 16 rescued men off the Sunderland.  A skeleton crew of  seven remained on board 461/E.  A two-hour attempt was made by the destroyer to tow the aircraft, but the heavy seas caused considerable damage and the tow had to be abandoned, so it was decided to risk a take-off.  Wave after wave struck the Sunderland with terrific violence and they did not get airborne until the seventh wave had hurled them skywards.  They arrived over their base and the Captain [400841 Pilot Officer G. O. Singleton] sent a message, "Hull caved in, landing airfield," and then turned out to sea to jettison everything flammable.  They padded themselves with cushions and mattresses to prepare for the landing.  The massive flying boat touched down on Angle airfield at 60 mph, with only a slight jar, and came to rest 160 yards further on.  Its keel made a groove in the grass only 2 inches wide.  [AWM UK1126 & 045299]

Sadly, the 10 Squadron pilot Norman GERRARD was killed in action on the 11th of August 1943, along with four of his April 29th crew, plus seven new men, when their Sunderland [10/F, DP177] was shot down over the Bay of Biscay, possibly by a Messerschmidt Bf109 fighter of III/JG2, flown by Hptm Bruno STOLLE.  Only three days before that, on an earlier patrol, that crew had successfully fought off an attack by six Ju88s.   Three more of Gerrard's April 29th crew were lost with three other 10 SQN Sunderlands in 1943.  Only three of Gerrard's April 29th crew-members survived the war.

The 461 Squadron Sunderland that had made the initial attack [10/P, JM676] was itself shot down seven months later, on 29th November 1943, by JU88s of I/ZG1.  All 12 crew on board were killed.

Moving on from all of this tragedy, one final related illustration provides hope:

Pembroke Dock, Wales. 1944-02-18. 400841 Flying Officer Gordon O. SINGLETON (St Kilda, Vic) and his fiancée,
Section Officer Myfanwy MARTEN, who were married 1944-03-25.  F/O Singleton is the pilot who successfully landed
 his Sunderland flying boat, of No. 461 Squadron RAAF, on an aerodrome without loss of life or injury to his crew.
[Gordon did survive the war...]

Stopgap Success
The Death of U-227
30 April 1943

The spring of 1943 saw desperate British efforts to cover the 'Northern Transit Zone' between the Shetland and Faeroe islands, where U-boats leaving Germany entered the Atlantic.  Part of this effort included patrols by twin-engined Hampden torpedo bombers of 455 RAAF Squadron.  The Australian crews had to improvise, without any specialised training or equipment for this role.  They flew many lonely missions in their slow and obsolete aircraft, which also lacked search radar. 

Despite this, Hampden X/455, flying from Sumburgh in the Orkneys, at the far northern tip of the UK, spotted U-227 north of the Shetlands.  The Hampden's pilot, Sergeant J. S. FREETH, executed two accurate depth-charge attacks to sink the boat.  None of the U-boat men survived.  They had been outward bound on their maiden voyage.

[Left:] A memorial portrait of Freeth, who was soon afterwards killed in a flying accident. 
[Right:] Click for several more fine pictures of 455 Squadron Hampdens and station life.

Hot Reception
U-465 Sunk
2 May 1943

Early in the pivotal month of May 1943, the successful British introduction of centimetric radar at night - and Doenitz's corresponding 'fight-back directive' - produced a rash of daylight U-boat sightings. 

On the second day of this month, which the U-boat crews would later remember as "Black May", Flight Lieutenant E. C. "Bert" SMITH was in command of Sunderland 'M'  of RAAF 461 Squadron [DV968], patrolling the southern end of the 'Derange' area of the Bay of Biscay.  (Just one day previously, this Sunderland crew had delivered an attack on U-415, but this boat had escaped damage.)

U-465 was spotted from 10 miles away, travelling outbound from France.  461/M approached using low broken cloud for cover.  The U-boat engaged the Sunderland with cannon fire at a distance of one mile.

During their final approach, the bow turret gunner (Sgt Macdonald, an RAF man attached to the Australian squadron) successfully suppressed the fire from U-465.  Smith's first four-bomb depth-charge attack then washed the U-boat's gun crews into the ocean.  U-465 began to list heavily.  It circled and stopped, blowing vapour and leaking oil.  It started to catch fire.  A second depth-charge drop by Smith foiled an attempt to re-man the flak guns.  U-465 settled by the stern and around 15 men jumped into the sea.  None survived. 

Smith and his crew returned to their base at Pembroke Dock, South Wales.

 
Panoramic view of the 461 Sqn. base at Pembroke Dock.

[The AWM also has several pictures of Smith, his crew and 461/M. 
This aircraft was subsequently lost on the 13th of August 1943 - flown by a different crew of 11 men - on an anti submarine patrol over the Bay of Biscay, when it was attacked by six German Ju88s.]
 

White Warpaint
U-663 Fatally Wounded
7 May 1943

Operating from his base at Mount Batten in Cornwall, Flying Officer Geoff ROSSITER was patrolling the 'Derange' area of the Bay of Biscay in RAAF Sunderland 10/W.  U-663 was spotted with binoculars, outward bound, while the Sunderland was about 17 miles away, patrolling just below the cloud base.  The Sunderland's white camouflage provided excellent concealment in these conditions.  The aircraft was then flown above the clouds to within four miles of the estimated position of the U-boat and two swift depth-charge attacks were initiated.

U-663 was seriously damaged.  It circled, then stopped; then slowly submerged, trailing oil.  It reported in by radio after the attack, but sank during the following day with total loss of life.

A portrait of 10/W's crew.

Body Blow
U-447 Sunk
7 May 1943

U-447 was sunk 200 miles SW of Cape Saint Vincent, Portugal, by two Hudson aircraft of 233 RAF Squadron, operating from Gibraltar.  The pilot of one, RAAF Flight Sergeant T. V. HOLLAND, made a well-placed depth-charge attack that seemed to lift U-447 bodily out of the water.  U-447 attempted to dive, then resurfaced, obviously in difficulties.  It wallowed briefly and then sank out of sight for the last time.  No survivors were seen.

Far away from the battle front, there are four photos in the AWM of the kind-hearted Holland,
 presenting fresh Mediterranean bananas to children in a London hospital.  (An unobtainable treat in those days.)

Oscar Winner
U-456 Hunted Down by a Robot Torpedo
12 May 1943

Another potent anti-submarine weapon was added to the Allied arsenal in May 1943; the Type 24 acoustic-homing torpedo.  This was invented by the Americans under the codename 'Fido'.  The British knew it as 'Oscar'.

Convoy HX-237 was being provided with an escort through showery weather in the mid-Atlantic by Liberator 86/B, which was flying one of the very first patrols armed with the new Type 24 torpedo.  This aircraft also carried RAAF Warrant Officer Alec CRAINE as one of its Wireless Operator/Air Gunners. 

86/B was patrolling 15 miles out from HX237 when Alec Craine spotted a wake six miles to starboard.  (He had just come off lookout duty and was standing behind the skipper as the Liberator flew out of cloud.)  The sighting proved to be U-456, which crash-dived before the Liberator could arrive overhead.  However their 'Oscar' was dropped into the still-visible diving-swirl and the robot then homed-in on the noise from the U-boat's rapidly spinning propellers.  U-456 was holed in the rear pressure compartment and had to surface, but it was still able to zigzag on the surface and it fired at the Liberator as 86/B made an unsuccessful second attack with its remaining three depth-charges.  Out of ammunition, the Liberator stayed in contact for three hours and homed-in two escort vessels from the convoy.  U-456 submerged again, to try to avoid the naval escort, but its damage had not been adequately repaired and it probably plunged straight to the bottom of the Atlantic.

Alec Craine went on to survive one more year of operations, but was killed on patrol on 12 August 1944 over the Bay of Biscay when his RAF 225 Squadron Liberator exploded in mid-air, after being hit by 'friendly fire' from the British destroyer HMS Onslow.

 

Homed-In
U-563 Battered into Oblivion
31 May 1943

On the last day of "Black May", U-563 was attacked twice by RAF Halifax 58/R in the Bay of Biscay.  The submarine was severely damaged and unable to submerge.  58/R homed-in several more aircraft. 

A second RAF Halifax, 58/J, made two less accurate attacks, leaving U-563 trailing oil, but still turning easily in evasive manoeuvres.  Then RAAF Sunderland 10/E, piloted by Flight Lieutenant Max MAINPRIZE, made two depth-charge attacks that temporarily stopped the U-boat in the water, before it slowly got under way again.  U-563 was finally sunk by two further depth-charge attacks from RAF Sunderland 228/X.  The last attack went in as the crew were attempting to abandon the boat.  30 men were observed floating in the water, but none were rescued.

Sunderland 10/E with Mainprize's Crew. 
Note the radar aerials on the side of the flying boat.  Other aerials and guns protruded in many places,
leading the Germans to call the Sunderlands "flying porcupines".

Body Guard
U-564 Sunk - But Avenged
14 June 1943

On the previous day, U-564 had been damaged in the Bay of Biscay by a Sunderland from 228 RAF Squadron.  Although it managed to shoot the Sunderland down, U-564 was too severely damaged to submerge, and BdU instructed the nearby U-185 to escort U-564 back to base and help fend off any attacking aircraft. 

On the way back, the two U-boats were spotted by an obsolescent Whitley bomber on active training duty, aircraft 'G' of RAF No.10 OTU (Operational Training Unit).  The pilot was RAAF Sergeant 'Buzz' BENSON.  The Whitley circled the boats while sending out homing signals for other aircraft.  (This was the standard procedure for attacking defensive groups of U-boats.)  However, after more than two hours had elapsed, only one other Allied plane had arrived.  This was an RCAF Hampden, an aircraft scarcely more effectual than the Whitley.  Benson requested permission from Coastal Command to attack anyway.  He made an accurate depth-charge drop that finished-off U-564.  The boat sank quickly and only 18 survivors were picked up by U-185.

Benson's Whitley suffered significant fuel-tank damage from the combined flak defence of the two U-boats.  He was unable to get all the way back to Britain and ditched within 60 miles of Land's End, in the English Channel. 

Benson managed to get his crew safely into their liferaft, but despite previous radio communication, they were not found by British Air-Sea Rescue.  After drifting very uncomfortably for five days they were finally rescued by French fishermen on their sailing boat Jazz Band.  The crew became Prisoners of War once they were landed back in France.  (The French civilians in the fishing port of Morgat gave the V-for-Victory sign and showered them with flowers as they arrived - which greatly annoyed the German occupation troops!)  Whilst in captivity, Benson was awarded the Distinguished Flying Medal and promoted to Warrant Officer for sinking U-564. 

In the final days of the war Benson escaped from a column of POWs being marched west by their German guards, as the Russian Army advanced behind them.  [The Norman FRANKS book "Search Find and Kill" includes an extensive interview with Benson and his crew.]

A portrait of 'Buzz' Benson DFM.

Mediterranean Sun
U-97 Sunk
16 June 1943

U-97 had torpedoed and sunk the large British Tanker Athelmonarch near Haifa in the Eastern Mediterranean.  The next day, Hudson 'T' of 459 Squadron RAAF, piloted by Flt. Sgt. David BARNARD, was despatched from Lydda, Palestine, to search for the U-boat.  The 40% cloud cover at 3,000 feet was carefully exploited to conceal the white-camouflaged bomber.  U-97 was then spotted, fully-surfaced and with some of the crew apparently sunbathing on deck.  Barnard made an immediate depth-charge attack.  One depth-charge exploded on U-97's decking, two more went into the water alongside.  The U-boat was fatally holed and sank within five minutes.  Only 21 of U-97's crew were rescued.

The Hudson was severely damaged in this attack; blown 400ft higher into the air by the blast from the "dry hit", it was badly bent out of shape.  It required great skill to bring it safely back to base and make a good landing.  Barnard was immediately awarded a Distinguished Flying Medal.

Click for an interesting set of photos of 459 Squadron Hudson aircraft and base activities.

Mid-Atlantic Encounter
U-200 Goes Down Fighting
24 June 1943

An air-to-air shot of the Very Long Range ("VLR") Liberator 120/H, which is credited with sinking three U-boats - out of 35 sighted over its career.

On this clear summer's day in the mid-Atlantic, U-200 was spotted by the crew of Liberator 'H' of 120 RAF Squadron, which had been flying from Iceland towards a convoy escort rendezvous.  U-200 fought on the surface, but was sunk on the first depth-charge pass.  The Liberator was seriously damaged by U-200's cannon fire but was successfully landed back in Reykjavik by its Australian pilot, Flight Lieutenant A. W. FRASER.

U-200 had been one of the 'Monsun' boats despatched to Asia.  It was carrying 'special forces' troops (tasked with a sabotage mission in South Africa) in addition to the normal crew - all perished.

Fraser himself died one year later in a flying accident.  Many RAAF lives were lost in such accidents - all part of the huge cost of countering the U-boat threat.

   
A dramatic photo of the attack on U-200.

[Several other photos of Fraser's crew in Reykjavik and England]

A Matter of Chance
An Unsuccessful Attack on U-518
30 June 1943.

The Australian War Memorial has a gripping photo of a low-level attack on U-518 in the Bay of Biscay by RAAF Sunderland 10/T, flown by Flight Lieutenant H. W. ("Hec") SKINNER. 

Skinner had to abort his first approach because of accurate gunfire from the U-boat.  He then made one low-level depth-charge pass, but the U-boat kept firing throughout and the Sunderland suffered significant damage.  Sgt. John BURNHAM, Skinner's rear gunner, was fatally wounded during this attack.

Gunsmoke from the pounding defensive cannon of U-518 can be seen.   This photograph freezes the
moment when the fatal hits were probably delivered to the rear turret of the Sunderland.

Unsuccessful attacks like this one were far more common than sinkings, but even the sighting of a U-boat was a rare event.  The Biscay aircrews had to endure many thankless hours of disciplined patrolling in order to achieve each sighting; flying in all weathers and faced with the constant threat of hostile German aircraft.  Skinner and his entire crew were lost just over six weeks later when Sunderland 10/T [W3985] was shot down on 18 August 1943 by German Ju88C pilot Hauptmann Horst GRAHL of Stab V/KG40.

 

The Bullet With Your Name On It
U-461 Sunk by 461/U!
30 July 1943

This strange co-incidence occurred during an epic anti-submarine engagement, which drew in combined forces on both sides.  This engagement illustrates the intensity of the fighting during Doenitz's 'group sailing' experiments in mid-1943, when groups of U-boats travelled together on the surface to provide mutual anti-aircraft defence.

Two strategically valuable 'milk-cow' U-tankers (U-461 and U-462) and a Type IX (U-504), were travelling together outbound through the Bay of Biscay.  The group of boats was spotted by RAF Liberator 53/O, which homed-in an amazing collection of aircraft, including a Sunderland from RAF 228 Squadron, a 210 Squadron RAF Catalina flying boat, two Halifaxes from RAF 502 Squadron, a USN 19th Squadron Liberator and a RAAF Sunderland, 461/U [W6077], flown by Flight Lieutenant Dudley MARROWS.  Nearby British ships of the Royal Navy 2nd Support Group also raced towards the position.

Another aircraft that followed the homing signals was a Luftwaffe Ju88C fighter, which threatened the 228 Squadron Sunderland, forcing it to jettison its exposed depth-charges and retire from the battle.  The slow Catalina also retreated.  - The German fighter then departed the scene, having achieved this result without having fired a shot.

The remaining Allied aircraft circled the U-boat group, which stayed on the surface at top speed in calm sea conditions and good visibility.  Halifax 502/B made an ineffective bombing attack and was damaged by the boats' accurate defensive fire.  It had to run for home. 

Halifax 502/S then attacked from higher altitude and dropped a total of five 600-pound bombs in three attacks, which holed the U-tanker U-462 and caused it to circle. 

Further approaches were beaten off by the flak, until Liberator 53/O succeeded in bravely diving through the barrage, but it was heavily hit and unable to make an accurate attack.  53/O had to flee to an emergency landing in Portugal.

Luckily, this dramatic distraction allowed Marrows in Sunderland 461/U to get in close, before he was noticed by the defence.  Machine-gun fire from Marrows' Sunderland silenced the gunners of U-461.  He skimmed in so low over the wave-tops that the other two boats did not have a clear shot past U-461.  Marrows released his depth-charges and zoomed over the conning tower of U-461, sinking the large U-tanker. 

A painting by Frank Harding of Dudley Marrows' attack.  It is autographed by Marrows (who was awarded the Distinguished Service Order
and the Distinguished Flying Cross) and also Wolf Stiebler, the commander of the sunken U-461 who became a firm friend of Dudley's after the war.

Marrows returned to the flotsam of U-461 and dropped a liferaft to the 25-30 swimmers seen amongst the wreckage, but only 15 of these men were eventually picked up by HMS Woodpecker.

Soon afterwards - not lacking in courage - Marrows made a determined approach towards U-504, but he had to break away, as British naval shells were starting to impact the sea surface.  U-462 was scuttled just as shellfire from the fast-closing 2nd Support Group began to come in, and 64 survivors were later picked up.  U-504 took cover by submerging, but was then systematically hunted down with sonar by the 2nd Support Group and destroyed underwater by depth-charge (with total loss of life).

As if Marrows' crew had not had enough excitement for this day, on the way home they spotted another U-boat...  Marrows decided to attack it with his last remaining depth-charge, but his Sunderland was further damaged by defensive fire and he was unable to drop his bomb.  After this, Marrows headed for home, low on fuel.  His mighty Sunderland was subsequently written-off due to the damage from these battles.

Marrows was later able to obtain some souvenirs of U-461 (via the famous Captain Walker of the RN 2nd Support Group) - the U-boat captain's life-preserver and keys.  Marrows also later met U-461's captain, Wolf STIEBLER, whose life had been saved by the raft that Marrows dropped (against RAF policy) to his erstwhile enemies.

    
[Left:] The U-boats manoeuvring on the surface during the battle. 
Click for more pictures, including crew photos of U-461 in less stressful circumstances, such as their mid-oceanic refuelling of other U-boats [shown at right].

Two months later, Marrows and his crew were very lucky to survive an hour-long running battle with six Ju88C twin-engined fighter aircraft.  Their Sunderland was critically damaged and they had to ditch.  A cramped life-raft kept them safe until they were picked up the next day.

A grainy German photograph of Marrows' downed Sunderland, sinking in the Bay of Biscay, 16 September 1943.  - Note the liferafts deployed on the wing - only one remained un-punctured. 
Remarkably, this print was later found in possession of a German Ju88 crewman who was himself shot down and made a prisoner of war in Britain.

Fatal Exchange
U-454 sunk
1 August 1943

Sunderland 'B' of 10 Squadron RAAF was co-operating with the Royal Navy 2nd Support Group in the Bay of Biscay when it spotted U-454 in very rough seas only six miles from the British ships.  10/B was steered into an immediate attack by its pilot, Flight Lieutenant Ken FRY.  Despite his Sunderland being severely holed by flak, and with two of his engines blown to pieces, Fry pressed home an accurate depth-charge strike that broke U-454 in two.  The mortally-damaged flying boat was then steered towards the Allied ships by Fry, who attempted to alight on the rough swell.  Unfortunately the shattered Sunderland airframe broke-up during touchdown.  Only six of the 12 crew could be rescued.  14 survivors of U-454 were also picked up by the sloop HMS Kite.

Fry did not survive.  He was Mentioned in Despatches for his bravery.  Many of his squadron mates thought that he deserved a Victoria Cross.  [However, only four VCs were awarded within Coastal Command during WW2, including one to a New Zealander, Flying Officer Lloyd TRIGG.  - Trigg had been, quite remarkably, recommended for a posthumous bravery decoration by the captured commander of the U-Boat that Trigg had resolutely sunk off the West African coast on 11 August 1943.]

The dramatic rescue of some of Fry's crew, floating on a shattered piece of their Sunderland's wing.

Hare and Hounds
The Sinking of U-106
2 August 1943

After the mauling received by the U-boats in the Bay of Biscay during the summer of 1943, the Germans increased their air/sea escort efforts.   U-106 was intercepted in the Bay of Biscay because Sunderland 'M' of 461 RAAF Squadron [DV968], flown by Flight Lieutenant I. A. F. CLARK,  spotted the U-boat's German naval escort of three Narvik-class destroyers.  Clark's radio operator homed-in the British 2nd Support Group and another Sunderland, RAF 228/N, for a potential naval engagement.  Then, just as the German destroyers started to retreat, U-106 was spotted by Clark's forward gunner and Clark immediately spiralled down to attack.  

U-106 had been returning to base after a damaging encounter with a Canadian Leigh-Light Wellington of 407 Squadron.  It chose to stay on the surface to fight the two Sunderlands.  Both attacked with depth-charges and used machine-guns to suppress the boat's defences.  Four depth-charge runs left U-106 wallowing on the surface for half an hour, until it began settling and the crew abandoned it.  Soon afterwards the boat blew up and sank.  36 survivors were picked up by the 2nd Support Group.

U106 straddled by depth-charge plumes.

Rocket Attack
U-336 Punctured
5 October 1943

U-336 was attacked by Hudson 'F' of RAF 269 Squadron, which was on convoy patrol south-west of Iceland.  The Australian pilot, Flight Sergeant G. C. ALLSOP, fired four pairs of armour-piercing rockets during his approach, despite the U-336 gunners trying to swat his Hudson out of the sky.  The U-boat was holed and stopped in a cloud of smoke.  It sank by the bow in the cold seas.  All hands were lost.

A typical rocket installation on an R.A.A.F. aircraft.

Baiting Procedure
U-419 and U-643 Sunk
8 October 1943

An effective technique for locating U-boats was to mount intensive aircraft patrols around threatened convoys.  The example below also illustrates how the efforts of diverse aircrew members could contribute to a victory.

South of Iceland, Liberator 'R' of 86 Squadron RAF was patrolling around a convoy when its Australian wireless operator, Warrant Officer Alec CRAINE, on lookout with binoculars, spotted U-419's wake from six miles away.  An unsuccessful depth-charge attack was made as U-419 crash dived.  Then, in a tactic known as 'Baiting Procedure' the position was marked and the aircraft departed the area temporarily, to see if U-419 could be bluffed into surfacing again.  An hour later, the Australian navigator of the Liberator, Flying Officer H. N. WEBB, guided 86/R back to the same position, where they caught U-419 on the surface.  The Liberator sank U-419 with its last two remaining depth-charges.  The convoy escort could only find one survivor.

86/R resumed its patrol, only to discover another boat, U-643, on the surface.  U-643 stayed up, probably hoping to keep the aircraft at bay with flak and thus avoid a vulnerable crash dive.  86/R engaged U-643 with gunfire, but had no depth-charges left.  Craine the wireless operator homed-in another 86 Squadron aircraft, Liberator 'Z', flown by RAAF Pilot Officer Cyril BURCHER.  (The same pilot who had sunk U-632 four months earlier.)

U-643 dived as soon as the second Liberator appeared, it escaped a rushed depth-charge attack from Burcher.  He then marked the location with a smoke float and followed baiting procedure.  When 86/Z returned one hour later, U-643 was found on the surface - already under attack from Liberator 120/T.

Burcher immediately made an accurate depth-charge attack.  This was followed by another attack from 120/T.  Both Liberators then made four machine-gun passes.  The U-643 crew were observed on the deck with life jackets and dinghies, then a terrific internal explosion finally sank the boat.  18 survivors were picked up by the Naval escort.

A portrait of Burcher showing his Distinguished Flying Cross ribbon, awarded for his numerous sorties against U-Boats.  
On another occasion Burcher flashed an emergency signal to the mighty liner Queen Mary in mid-Atlantic, "U-boat on surface, 6 miles dead ahead." 
Burcher recalled: "The Queen Mary immediately did a 90-degree starboard turn at about 36 knots.  It was a beautiful sight to see."
Five years later, the Captain of the Queen Mary, Sir James BISSET, met Burcher personally and congratulated him for potentially saving the lives of more than 15,000 troops on that day.

Tag Team
U-470 Sunk
16 October 1943

U-470 was sunk after a protracted battle with three 'Very Long Range' Liberators protecting convoys ON-206 and ONS-20, transiting south of Iceland.  RAAF Pilot Officer Wes LONEY was flying one of these RAF aircraft, Liberator 59/C. 

The three aircraft expended all of their depth-charges in a whirling series of attacks.  U-470 put up a spirited defence, but was halted in the water before Loney put in his final devastating attack.  The boat sank instantly and a few survivors popped to the surface.  Loney dropped a marker-buoy to guide the convoy escort to the site, but only two survivors from the U-470 crew could be picked up.

Loney then faced a 1,400km flight back through bad weather and darkness to Northern Ireland.  Their fuel reserves had been depleted due to tank punctures inflicted by U-470's gunfire.  Upon touch-down at Ballykelly, 59/C's battle-damaged port main landing-gear collapsed and the huge aircraft slithered perilously to a halt, dragging one wingtip.  Fortunately, all of the crew were able to exit safely; there was no fire because their tanks had almost no fuel left!  Loney was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross.

A map of Wes Loney's long nervous journey home on 16-17 Oct 43, 
illustrating the war-winning endurance of these VLR Liberators on their mid-Atlantic patrols.

Crippling Exchange
U-280 Sunk
16 November 1943

Liberator 'M' of No.86 RAF Squadron was patrolling around convoy HX265, south-west of Iceland, when the crew spotted U-280.  The Australian pilot, Flight Lieutenant Jack BOOKLESS, delivered two depth-charge attacks while his men fought intense gun duels with U-280's flak crews.  One of the Liberator's engines was crippled in the exchange.  U-280 submerged on an even keel, apparently only damaged, but it must have soon afterwards foundered with all hands. 

Bookless disregarded the serious damage accrued by his aircraft and stayed on patrol for the next hour following this encounter, to safeguard the convoy.

 

1944

An excellent air-to-air portrait of two "Flying Porcupines" of 461 Squadron, circa 1944.

Showdown
U-426 Defeated
8 January 1944

During a midwinter 'Percussion' patrol in the Bay of Biscay, Sunderland 'U' of 10 Squadron RAAF spotted U-426, outward bound at a distance of 12 miles, in excellent visibility.  Confidently remaining on the surface, U-426 opened fire at five miles with its daunting armament of an automatic 30mm gun and 4x20mm cannon.  Flying Officer J. P. ROBERTS, piloting the Sunderland, closed to 1,200 yards and hosed the U-boat's gun platforms with his four fixed bow-mounted machine guns (a new armament devised by the Australians for the Sunderland).  This caused chaos on the U-426 bridge.  The boat was unable to further defend itself and Roberts pressed home an accurate depth-charge attack.  U-426 was holed at the rear.  The German crew abandoned the rapidly sinking boat, but none survived the winter conditions.

[Left:] The 10/U crew back on dry land after their day-long mission.  The AWM has an interesting variety of pictures of Roberts and his crewmates.
[Right:] U-426 settles by the stern.

Cold Shock
U-571 Smashed in a Winter Storm
28 January 1944

Sunderland 'D' of 461 RAAF Squadron [EK577], piloted by Flight Lieutenant R. D. LUCAS, was providing close protection for a convoy southwest of Ireland.  While flying through a bitter winter gale, the Sunderland's front-turret gunner, Fight Sgt. Joe SIMMONDS RAF, suddenly sighted U-571 on the surface three miles away.  The boat made no attempt to crash-dive.  U-571's flak gunners bought their six cannon to bear and put up a heavy barrage, but Lucas corkscrewed to dodge the flak and the U-boat gun crews were then mown down by accurate fire from Joe Simmonds, only 60 seconds after his first sighting of the submarine.  461/D's first depth-charge run was not successful, but Lucas then pirouetted the massive flying boat to attack again with his last two depth-charges.  This accurate attack caused U-571 to break up within one minute. 

37 men were counted abandoning the boat but they did not have time to deploy any liferafts.  Lucas's crew were appalled at the plight of the survivors in the frigid water.  The Sunderland crew dropped their own rubber dinghy but tragically it failed to inflate.  Another Australian Sunderland arrived and another dinghy was dropped, but by that time there were only six Germans left waving for help.  Sadly none of these swimmers had the strength to reach the rubber boat bobbing nearby.  Hypothermia claimed them all.

 
[Left:] Lucas at the hatch of his flying boat, "D for Dog", immediately after returning.
[Right:]  An oil stain on the rough Atlantic surface marks the demise of U-571.

[Note: The title 'U-571' has been used for a major Hollywood action film.  However, that movie's fanciful script does not in any way resemble the genuine history of U-571.]

Bomber's Moon
U-545 Scuttled
10 February 1944

RAAF Flight Lieutenant Max PAYNTER was flying RAF Wellington 612/O at night in the Northern Approaches (the major sea lanes NW of the UK).  Following a radar contact, Paynter spotted U-545 from one mile away in the moonlight.  He made an immediate depth-charge attack, but chose not to use his Leigh-Light to avoid drawing return fire.  This was wise, as U-545 had previously shot down a Canadian 407 Squadron Wellington. 

U-545 was unable to continue.  It was scuttled and the crew were rescued by U-714 and returned to St Nazaire.  One officer had been killed in the attack, but there were 56 survivors.

In 1945 Paynter was presented with a Distinguished Flying Cross by King George VI himself.

Leigh-Light Wellington XIV of No.612 Squadron RAF, in the first half of 1944. The tractor driver is 20-year-old LACW Felicity Lambert.
[IWM CH 12719]

Pea Shooter
U-241 Picked Off
18 May 1944

U-241 was sunk NE of the Faeroe Islands by Catalina 'S' of 210 Squadron RAF.  The Australian bow-gunner of this flying boat, Warrant Officer HINDERSON, made a significant contribution to this sinking.  He used his comparatively puny 0.303 calibre single-barrelled Vickers gun to knock out the heavily-armed defensive flak crew of U-241.  Meanwhile his pilot coolly pushed his Catalina at its maximum (but still unimpressive!) diving speed towards U-241 and sank the submarine with a pattern of well-placed depth-charges.  All of U-241's crew perished.

 

The Best Way To Learn
U-675 Sunk
24 May 1944

U-675 was spotted and sunk in the North Sea west of Alesund, Norway, by a Sunderland on training duty, aircraft 'R' (ML736) of RAF No.4 OTU, based at Invergordon, Scotland.  This flying boat was captained by Flight Lieutenant T. F. P. FRIZELL, RAAF, and manned by a scratch crew of instructors and trainees.  The crew of U-675 were themselves inexperienced, being on their first patrol.  They put up heavy defensive fire, but all were lost... 

Frizell received a DFC for this success.  He later gave this account to Norman FRANKS, the author of the book "Search, Find and Kill":
It was the old 'Empire Day' when I was sent out to patrol off the coast of Norway with a trainee crew [of RNZAF personnel destined for 490 Squadron, led by Warrant Officer J. S. MacDONALD].  The position arose because of the shortage of squadron aircraft, which were mostly engaged in pre-D-Day ops.  For most of the war there had been a 'Totally Restricted Bombing Area' off the Norwegian coast, as our own submarines were always likely to be operating there.  A day or so before, this had been lifted, so the area was then covered as much as possible by our own aircraft, hoping to catch the Germans unawares.  They had, of course, been fully aware that they would not be attacked there.  The ruse was successful; others, as well as myself, were successful in attacking U-boats in the next week or so.

It was quite a pleasant day, with broken overcast, and we were happily flying along, just within sight of the coast, when one of the gunners called a sighting of a ship not far away.  On turning, I could see that it was a U-boat, fully surfaced, and of course dived for it, 'hell-for-leather.' 

I hopped into the Captain's seat, which had been occupied by the trainee captain. 

Despite the fact that we had been warned some time before that submarines, newly equipped with extra guns, might stay up and fight, I could hardly believe this would happen.  I went in for a quarter attack, which we had practised 'ad nauseam' in training, with a towed target, only to find that the U-boat could turn inside us easily. 

During the run-in, the bomb-bay called up to say that the bomb racks would not extend electrically, and would have to be wound-out by hand.  As this takes some time, I had to abort the attack, in the process coming under fire from cannon and the 5-inch gun.  I then circled as close as possible, and called for the rear gunner and others to announce the instant they could see a flash from the 5-in. gun.  I figured that light travels much faster than a shell, and thus climbed, dived or turned each time he fired, and managed not to be there when a shell arrived!  At the same time the front gunner announced a jam, which he eventually cleared. 

I was worried that the thing would crash-dive after the first abort, but he stayed on the surface.  As soon as the green lights came on for the correct extension of the bomb racks, we made another run, but again he put me in an unfavourable position to attack and we broke off to try again.  I had always sworn that I would not waste precious depth-charges on a bad approach.  Next time we managed to out-guess him and finished up in a perfect quarter attack position.  The D/Cs all released properly and we continued on past the target without turning, to allow the rear-facing camera to operate. 

Next thing I heard was a yell from the rear gunner, which I interpreted as one of distress, and thought we must have missed. 
However, the yell turned out to be one of jubilation!  [The NZ Official History describes this as "a wild Maori yell"...]

Profile of a 4OTU Sunderland V, from rafweb.

We had flown through quite a lot of flak, but no one seemed to be hurt.  As we approached again, the U-boat went into a vertical dive, stern first, and blew up.  [All of the German sailors were lost at sea.]  We flew around for some time, taking hand-held photos of the wreckage and bodies, etc., and when there seemed little point in remaining, set course for base.  I feared that we would soon be chased by fighters, as we had sent out a sighting report [by radio].  As, no doubt, had the U-boat.

We seemed unharmed, except for a fuel-pressure warning light.  We inspected the underfloor area on the way home, but no holes were evident.  At the time, I remember I was more upset at returning from that trip (in some sort of triumph), to see most of my original crew, with whom I had flown a full tour, sitting around in the Mess, looking most disconsolate.  They had been with me for so long, out over the Atlantic and the Bay, and had never had a success, and on this day had not been with me... 
Such is Fate!

 

Double-Teamed
The Sinking of U-990
25 May 1944

U-990 was sunk by multi-aircraft attack in the North Sea.  One of the planes involved, Liberator 'L' of RAF 59 Squadron, was flown by RAAF Pilot Officer Wes LONEY.  Credit for the sinking went to Liberator 59/S.  At the time, U-990 was also carrying a large group of survivors that it had picked up from U-476.  51 men of the combined crews escaped from U-990.  A German Patrol Boat rescued them.

 

The Salmon Run
A Multinational Crew Downed
6 June 1944

Many RAAF aircrew lost their lives to the potent anti-aircraft defences of the U-boats.  Below is just one example.

In response to the Allied D-Day landings at Normandy, the German U-boat force made a brave attempt to interdict the Allied invasion fleet from the western end of the English Channel.  A strong anti-submarine air group had been prepared by the Allies for just this eventuality, and the result was the largest pitched battle between U-boats and aircraft of the entire war.  Both sides suffered significant casualties. 

One example was the loss of Leigh-Light Liberator 'B' of 224 Squadron RAF, shot down by U-415 in a night-time battle.  All ten crewmembers of the Liberator were killed, including seven Australians.

Five interesting pictures of an RAF Liberator demonstrating its Leigh-Light.

Hazardous Duty
Ground Crew Casualties

The RAAF Coastal Command groundcrew in Britain (predominantly employed in No.10 Sunderland Squadron, which had "Permanent Air Force" status) were also subjected to many hazards.  Their workplaces were high-priority military targets for German bombers and the technology that they worked with was itself inherently dangerous.  Several Australian groundcrew lives were lost as an unavoidable consequence of the battle against the U-Boats.

Portrait of Flight Sergeant Oswald 'Ossie' FERGUSON, ground staff, No 10 Squadron, RAAF. 
The young man from Goulburn smiles confidently and self-assuredly at the viewer, his tin-snips nonchalantly held in his  hand as he leans against a cabinet.   A Fitter, he worked on Sunderland aircraft in the workshops at Mount Batten, Plymouth. 
Ferguson was on leave in London when he was killed by a V1 flying bomb on 30 June 1944, aged 33, and is buried in  Brookwood Military Cemetery, Woking UK.  Ossie had been a key man with 10 Squadron since 1940.  He played an important role in designing the upgraded armament for the Sunderland flying boats.  He was Mentioned in Despatches for his work.  His 10-year-old son Graham received Ossie's posthumous British Empire Medal from the Australian Governor-General in 1945. 
[AWM Copyright ART22312., painting by Colin Colahan.]

Jitterbug
U-243 Sunk
8 July 1944

RAAF Sunderland 10/H was patrolling in the Bay of Biscay, 130 miles SW of Brest, France, when it spotted U-243.  The pilot of the flying boat, Flight Lieutenant Bill TILLEY, immediately made an attacking dive.  The U-243 gunners opened up at two miles range.  Tilley jinked the ungainly four-engined flying boat violently from side to side, while his bow turret gunner, Flight Sergeant Cooke, replied accurately to the defensive fire.  U-243's guns were silent by the time that the Sunderland passed over at only 75 feet.  The close approach allowed the decisive placement of Tilley's depth-charges.  U-243 was holed and stopped, but the crew briefly mounted some further gun defence, during which time two additional ineffectual attacks were made by a RAAF Sunderland and a US Navy Liberator that had homed onto the scene.  The submarine finally foundered after about half an hour, leaving a number of survivors in the water.  Tilley dropped a life raft and food pack.  38 members of the U-243 crew were later picked up by HMCS Restigouche.

 
[Left:] U-243 under attack.
[Right:] The U-243 survivors adrift on the ocean in small rafts.
 

Moonlight Sonata
U-385 Sunk by Air-Sea Co-Operation
10-11 August 1944

U-385 was one of the U-boats ordered to abandon its concrete bunker on the French Biscay coast in August 1944, as the Allied armies broke out from their Normandy beachhead. 

Pilot Officer Ivan SOUTHALL was flying RAAF Sunderland 461/P [ML741] over the Bay on the moonlit night of the 10th of August.  After an initial radar contact, Southall sighted the boat, outbound on the surface, 150 miles south of Brest.  Southall flew a curved approach to keep the boat visible in the moonpath.  This also allowed him to avoid using flares, which would have given away his presence to the U-boat gunners.  He made an accurate attack with a stick of six depth-charges, which caused U-385 to lose way and begin wallowing.  The Sunderland circled as the seriously damaged U-boat sent up heavy, but ill-directed, defensive fire.  Southall then flew off to guide nearby Naval units to the area.  When 461/P returned, U-385 had submerged.  Early the next morning the U-Boat was detected by the five ships of the 2nd Support Group, depth-charged to the surface by HMS Starling and engaged with gunfire as the crew abandoned it.  All except one of U-385's crew survived.

[Left:] A nice study of 461/P taking off
[Right:] Portrait of Southall just after VE-Day, in the firing position of an anti-aircraft cannon on the surrendered U-776.

 [After the war, Southall moved on to more important things.  He also helped compile the RAAF official history and later became a prolific author.
His 461 Squadron history "They Shall Not Pass Unseen" was used in compiling this web-page.]

Flare-Lit Finale
The End of U-270
13 August 1944

U-270 was another refugee from the Biscay U-boat bases.  It was evacuating important German personnel from Lorient to La Pallice and had a total of 71 men aboard.  The surfaced boat was detected by radar at night by Sunderland 'A' of 461 RAAF Squadron [ML735], captained by Flying Officer Don LITTLE.  U-270 then found itself suddenly illuminated by flares dropped from the Sunderland. 

This surreal and very rare photo (illuminated by flares from a Sunderland of R.A.F. 201 SQN)
shows an earlier example of this method of night-attack, in the Bay of Biscay on 7 June 1944. 
The doomed U-955 churns through the water (lower left) while depth-charges explode alongside.
[The pilot of this Sunderland, “Bav” BAVEYSTOCK, was a larger-than-life character, ending the
war with a DSO, DFC and Bar.  He sank two U-Boats and also located a German “blockade runner”.
  Additionally, “Bav” had previously in 1942 been awarded a DFM for evading capture in Europe, after he
had been shot down during the famous “1,000 Bomber Raid” on Cologne.  He escaped to Spain.]

The boat's guns immediately opened fire.  (In its career, U-270 had survived several previous air attacks and had shot down two RAF Flying Fortresses.)  F/O Little pressed in with a determined attack, strafing with his own four nose-mounted machine guns and dropping depth charges.  U-270 was straddled by the charges and holed on the first run, but immediately afterwards the Sunderland lost contact in the darkness. 

The U-boat stayed underway for over an hour but started to become dangerously unstable and the order was given to abandon it.  All hands were assembled on deck in the darkness, in preparation for launching their liferafts, when they were startled by the targeting searchlight of a Leigh-Light Wellington, 179/X (which mercifully held its fire).  All 71 Germans were later fished out of the sea by a British destroyer guided to the scene by homing signals from Little and his crew in 461/A.  (The orbiting Sunderland had observed many twinkling lights on the ocean surface, from the Germans' lifejackets.)

Seven weeks later, on 1 October 1944, Sunderland ML735 (461/A) was shot down by German Bf110 fighters of 12/ZG26, while on a patrol 30 miles west of Bergen, Norway, with complete loss of life.  (However, this was a different crew to Little's team of 13 August.  Casualties were F/Lt GODSALL and seven other Australians, plus three RAF men.)

U-Boat Far from Home
U-862 Defies the Odds in Australian Waters
December 1944 to February 1945

Amazingly, one German U-Boat managed to operate off the south-eastern coast of Australia in the closing days of WW2.  U-862, which had been especially designed for ultra-long range, motored all the way from Germany to the Far East (to join the Axis 'Monsun' fleet) and then undertook a stunning patrol into Australian waters from the German/Japanese naval base at Batavia (modern-day Jakarta, Indonesia). 

Once U-862 had revealed its location by sinking an American Liberty Ship (SS Robert Walker) south of Sydney on Christmas Eve 1944, a maximum-effort air search was launched by the RAAF, involving many squadrons. 

One of the multitude of searching aircraft, Beaufort A9-642 of No.32 Squadron RAAF, crashed during a severe thunderstorm at sea near Brisbane, killing all four members of the crew.

Studio portrait of 411596 Pilot Officer, later Flying Officer (FO) Allan Gordon MUNRO,
32 Squadron, of Coonamble, NSW.  FO Munro enlisted in May 1941 and after
promotion was a Wireless/Air Gunner on board Beaufort aircraft A9-642.  On
27 December 1944, A9-642 was lost  while engaged in anti-submarine patrolling
off the coast of Queensland.  No trace was found of the aircraft, nor its crew
of four men.  FO Munro was 22 years of age.

Farcically, considering the massive resources deployed from Australia, U-862 then got clean away, circumnavigating New Zealand in the process.  The Australian-based RAAF thus received an abject lesson in the essential elements of successful U-Boat hunting, which had taken so long to perfect in the Battle of the Atlantic:

- Copious specialised equipment, Operations Research and intensive training;

- Military intelligence, including radio direction-finding and code-breaking;

- Skilled command and control.

Whilst on its return voyage to SE Asia, U-862 sank its last victim (Liberty Ship SS Peter Silvester) far to the west of Perth, Western Australia, on 6 February 1945.  Besides the 33 deaths due to the sinking, another RAAF disaster occurred during the air-search for lifeboats, when a Liberator (A72-124) crashed on take-off from Cunderdin, Western Australia, on 14 February.  The aircraft had been heavily laden with fuel, including bomb-bay tanks.  Five of the crew were killed and six injured. 

U-862 was then lucky enough to slip through a waiting cordon of Allied submarines (now fully informed of her schedule, thanks to Allied codebreaking) to make a triumphal return to Singapore.  

 

1945

Swamped
Ganging Up on U-300
17-22 February 1945

In the face of increasing Allied air-power, from 1944 the Germans fitted 'Schnorchel' ventilation tubes to many of their U-boats, greatly decreasing their visibility when they used their diesel engines.  This made the task of searching Allied aircraft that much harder.  In response, new detection technologies such as sonobuoys were hurriedly mobilised by the Allies.  Another new tactic was the 'Swamp' technique, which used the numerical superiority of Allied aircraft to pin down a U-boat in a small area, even if the aircraft were unable to locate it exactly.

U-300 had a schnorchel, but her position was revealed when she torpedoed two ships in a convoy west of Cadiz, Spain.  The fleeing U-boat was immediately subjected to continuous 'Swamp' searches, where two entire Allied squadrons (No.22 SAAF by day and No.458 RAAF by night, with Leigh-Light Wellingtons) flew missions around-the-clock to prevent the U-boat from surfacing and running away, while naval units methodically searched underwater with ASDIC echo-location. 

After an amazing five-day effort, the ships HMS Recruit, Evadne and HMS Pincher depth-charged U-300 to the surface and then sank her with naval gunfire.  41 of U-300's crewmen survived.

458 Squadron Wellingtons at Gibraltar airstrip, February 1945. 
The famous "Rock" is honeycombed with tunnels and artillery positions (visible in the cliff) dating back as far as the 1780s. 
There are also vast bomb-proof underground barracks created for WW2.  The airstrip was extended far out into the bay using  the rubble from these tunnels.

The Way of the Future
U-1017 Destroyed Underwater
29 April 1945

In the early afternoon of 29 April, U-1017 was proceeding under the surface of the Atlantic north-west of Ireland, with its schnorchel deployed.  Its small wake was spotted at a distance of three miles by the co-pilot of RAF Liberator 120/Q, Sgt. Allan McPHEE RAAF.  Four depth-charges were dropped on the schnorchel, along with a sonobuoy.  The U-boat crew were probably unaware that they had been attacked until the depth-charges went off.  The sonobuoy then detected a long series of secondary explosions underwater.   Further breaking-up noises were confirmed when 120/Q dropped another pattern of four sonobuoys.

A B24 Liberator bomber circles a surrendered U-boat (U293) at the end of WW2. 
The Liberators earned their reputation as the most effective Allied anti-submarine aircraft.

Let This Be Their Memorial.
A Multinational Aircrew Shot Down and U-534 Sunk
5 May 1945

The last few days of the war in Europe saw many dramatic escape attempts by U-boats based on the north German coast.  These boats were ordered to run for safer Norwegian ports ahead of the rapidly advancing Allied ground forces.  One such action, involving the now-preserved U-534, occurred in the Kattegat Strait between Denmark and Sweden.

On this day, patrolling RAF Liberator 86/G used radar to detect a group of three U-boats running on the surface in hazy daylight in a staggered line-astern formation.  86/G homed-in another RAF Liberator, 547/E.  As the first two boats of the group began gingerly submerging in the shallow water, 547/E made two ineffective attacks on the leading boat.  Unfortunately this Liberator then had its wing blown off by the powerful armament of U-534, which had remained on the surface.  547/E crashed into the sea and only one man survived from its multinational aircrew.  The dead included Canadians, Britons and its Australian pilot, Flying Officer James HOWATSON.

[Howatson's body was never recovered.  So, as with many other Coastal Command casualties who are forever "missing" at sea, he is commemorated on the Runnymede Memorial to the Missing.]

Meanwhile, U-534 was attacked by Liberator 86/G, and was sunk after two depth-charge runs.  86/G was operated by yet another multinational crew that included four Australians.

All except three of U-534's crew survived and were rescued.  The wreck of U-534 has now been salvaged and is on display near Liverpool in the UK.  It is being preserved as a memorial to all who died in the Battle of the Atlantic.

[Left:] An action photo.  [Right:] The crew of 86/G posing on a load of aerial depth-charges.

[Photos of the raised hulk of U-534.]

Another Australian connection with U-534 is that in on the night of 27 August 1944 the U-Boat had shot down an R.A.F. Wellington (172/B), which ditched in the ocean.  Three survivors managed to inflate a tiny life-raft. 
RAAF Sunderland pilot Bill TILLEY, an excellent flier who had sunk U-243 one month earlier, was able to find the exhausted men and safely alight on the open ocean to save them.  (This practice involved real danger to the Sunderland.  Many aircraft had been lost earlier in the war attempting similar feats, so it was officially frowned-upon.)  Tilley's Sunderland is shown here smashing through the swell to lift-off after the successful rescue.

REFERENCES

Most of this material draws on the work of Australian war historian John HERINGTON.  He wrote two volumes of the official Australian war history, published by the Australian War Memorial in 1954; Air War Against Germany and Italy 1939-43 and Air Power Over Europe 1944-45.  These fascinating books are available in most Australian public libraries.  Herington was a Catalina pilot operating out of Gibraltar during WW2 and he was therefore an informed commentator on the U-boat War.  (Some items of information reported by Herington, such as the presumed identities of certain U-boats, have been corrected using the latest updated data from uboat.net.)  Other sources used were the more recent books, U-boat Versus Aircraft; Maritime is Number Ten; Endurance; They Shall Not Pass Unseen; Black May; Search Find and Kill; Bloody Biscay; and www.regiamarina.net for Italian data.  The original Operations Record Books for 10 Squadron 1940-43 and 10 Squadron 1944-45 and 461 Squadron 1942-45 are available online from the National Archives of Australia.

Compiled by James Oglethorpe, originally for U-Boat Net