[aegneus]

Jag är lite förvånad över det som känns som ett stort antal ensamma skepp som dyker upp. Det är inte intrycket jag har av vad som gällde under 40-41. Någon mer insatt som vill kommentera?

[Strv102r]

Vid patruller runt de brittiska öarna och USA är den möjligheten större, ute på Atlanten rätt liten.

[Strv102r]

Efter en månads småreparationer och återfyllnad av drivmedel och torpeder är det dags för en ny vända till den amerikanska östkusten. Resan börjar med att ett ubåtsjaktflygplan upptäcks i god tid när Biskaya-bukten passeras, så U-50 dyker och undgår anfall. Resten av transitresan blir händelselös.

Patrullen börjar med att en konvoj påträffas i mörker. I närheten av U-50 finns fyra feta mål. Överhuvudtaget har U-50 haft en osannolik tur med målen som man stött på. Fördelningen stora mot små mål har varit mycket skev till förmån för stora mål. Denna gånga är det fraktfartygen Greylock (7500 ton) och Amerikaland (15 400 ton! men udda stavning av Amerika med k, tyskt eller nordiskt fartyg? Knappast tyskt tänker jag...) samt tankfartygen Norness (9100 ton) och WD Anderson (10 200 ton!).

U-50 är lite försiktig och anfaller i u-läge från medelavstånd. En G7a och G7e på vardera Amerikaland och WD Anderson. Amerikaland träffas av båda, medan WD Anderson träffas av en torped. Alla fungerar. Träffarna är suveräna ur U-50 perspektiv i alla tre fallen. Trots bara en träff sänks WD Andersson (och Amerikaland där en av träffarna hade räckt).



Name    Amerikaland
Type:    Motor merchant
Tonnage    15,355 tons (one of the largest ships sunk).
Completed    1925 - Deutsche Werft AG, Betrieb Finkenwärder, Hamburg
Owner    Ångfartygs-A/B Tirfing, Gothenburg
Homeport    Gothenburg
Date of attack    3 Feb 1942    Nationality:      Swedish

Fate    Sunk by U-106 (Hermann Rasch)
Position    36° 36'N, 74° 10'W - Grid CA 8458
Complement    39 (5 dead and 34 survivors).
Convoy   
Route    Sparrows Point, Maryland (31 Jan) - Cristobal - Cruz Grande, Chile
Cargo    Ballast
History    Completed in June 1925
Notes on event   
At 03.23 hours on 3 February 1942 the unescorted and unarmed ore carrier Amerikaland (Master Ragnar Schütz) was hit on the starboard side amidships below the bridge by one torpedo from U-106 while steaming on a non-evasive course at 12 knots about 90 miles east of Virginia Beach. At 03.52 hours, a stern torpedo struck on the starboard side aft in the engine room after a first coup de grâce missed at 03.30 hours. The ship developed a list to starboard and sank at 04.39 hours.

All crew members abandoned ship in three lifeboats which soon lost contact with each other in a snowstorm. On 6 February, the master and 10 crew members were picked up from one boat by the British steam merchant Port Halifax and landed in New York the next day. One man in this boat died of exposure before it was located. Three men in the boat of the chief officer also died of exposure before the other six occupants were picked up by the Dutch motor merchant Castor on 7 February and landed at Willemstad, Curaçao on 13 February. The boat in charge of the second engineer almost swamped during the storm and the survivors had to bail it out constantly. The boatswain died of exposure in this lifeboat before its occupants were picked up after three days by the Brazilian steam merchant Taubate and taken to Recife, arriving on 22 February. Many of the survivors suffered from frostbite.






At 01.32 hours on 23 Feb 1942 the unescorted and unarmed W.D. Anderson (Master Albert Benjamin Walters) was torpedoed by U-504 about 12 miles northeast of Jupiter Light, Florida. The sole survivor was standing on the fantail when a first explosion let the ship burst into flames. Immediately he dove overboard and escaped a second explosion, but got caught in the wash of the propeller and surfaced astern of the tanker as burning oil spread around her. Eight officers and 27 crewmen were lost. The ship settled by the stern and later sank in 27°09N/80°15W. The survivor was picked up by a small fishing boat, transferred to a US Coast Guard vessel Trouper and taken to Stuart, Florida.


U-50 upptäcks av eskorten och sjunkbombas, men det blir bara en träff som orsakar mindre, ur spelsynpunkt irrelevant, skada. Chefen för U-50 går ner på stort djup och tar skrovskada av trycket, men det funkar. Jagarna tappar kontakten. U-50 försöker förfölja konvojen för att komma åt de andra feta målen, men tappar bort den.

Patrullen går vidare. Två oeskorterade fartyg påträffas i mörker. Anfallet genomförs, så klart i ytläge och på kort håll. Målen är tankfartyget Halo (7000 ton) och fraktfartyget Frisco. U-50 skjuter tre torpeder på Halo och en på Frisco. Två träffar på Halo och en på Frisco. Båda sänks.



At 07.58 hours on 20 May 1942 the unescorted and unarmed Halo (Master Ulrich Fred Moller) was hit by two torpedoes from U-506 about 50 miles from the Southwest Pass of the Mississippi River, while proceeding on a rapidly changing zigzag pattern at 10.4 knots. The first torpedo struck on the starboard side under the bridge and completely destroyed this part of the ship. The second hit aft of the bridge but forward of the engine room. The second explosion broke the ship in two and ignited the cargo. The tanker plunged bow first with her propeller still turning and sank within three minutes. 23 men of the crew of eight officers and 34 men managed to leave the ship, but only one raft was left, the four lifeboats and three other rafts were destroyed by the explosions and fire. The survivors huddled together clinging to wreckage in the water near the sunken ship throughout the night and the next day. The oil on the surface burned for six hours. Two men cling to a half-burned raft and stayed on it for seven days without food or water. They were then picked up by Otina and taken to New Orleans.
The other survivors in the water began dying from exposure and injuries. On the third day wreckage ascended from the tanker and the seven remaining survivors tied boards together with strips of canvas torn from their life preservers. Crude oil also floated free forming a layer four inches thick. Five days after the sinking, the Oaxaca picked up the three remaining survivors, but one of these men died at sea. The two men arrived at a hospital in Tampico on 28 May, but one men died 30 minutes after arriving. Thus, only one officer and two crewmen survived the sinking.





At 01.16 hours on 13 Jan 1942 the unescorted Frisco (Master Thor Thorsen) was hit on the port side ahead of the bridge by one torpedo from U-130 off Nova Scotia. The explosion opened a large hole below the water line and killed one seaman on lookout duty. Due to the proximity of the coast the U-boat fired a coup de grâce from a stern tube after 5 minutes that hit on the port side aft of the bridge, setting the vessel on fire and killing the master and both deck officers. The ship developed a heavy list to port and settled slowly until she sank around 03.30 hours. The survivors abandoned ship in the two lifeboats, but they were separated shortly thereafter. In the afternoon of 14 January, six survivors in one of the lifeboats were picked up by the Faroese schooner Mjoanes and taken to North Sydney, arriving two days later. The other lifeboat occupied with 9 men was never seen again.


U-50 påträffar inga ytterligare mål under patrullen och kan återvända till Brest efter att åter(!) ha haft vakna flygspanare under passagen av Biscaya-bukten.  Chefen U-50 är nu den tredje tyska ubåts-esset (sannolikt högre då den jämförelsen görs med slutresultatet för alla) och tilldelas svärden till eklöven och riddarkorset.

[Strv102r]

Två månaders vila och utbildning blir det innan det är dags igen. I juni 1942 stävar U-50 mot den amerikanska östkusten igen. Utresan blir händelselös.

Väl i patrullområdet träffar man i mörker på det ensamma tankfartyget OA Knudsen (11 000 ton!). Som vanligt genomförs anfallet i ytläge på kort håll. En av varje G7a och G7e, båda träffar och ingen blindgångare, men fartyget sänks ändå inte. Det hela ska avslutas med däckskanonen, men Knudsen håller sig undan, och det blir en utdragen historia. Tyvärr, för Knudsen, ansluter vare sig jagare eller ubåtsjaktflygplan, och U-50 försöker avsluta med en G7e till, som missar. Men nu kan däckskanonen få till ett avslut.



At 15.33 hours on 5 March 1942 the unescorted O.A. Knudsen (Master Knut O. Bringedal) was hit on the port side in tank #6 by one torpedo from U-128 east of Abaco Island, Bahamas. The ship started listing and the engines were stopped. The crew abandoned ship in the starboard lifeboat and a motorboat, but eight men remained on board, managed to restart the engines and head for land. A first coup de grâce at 15.42 hours missed, but a second fired at 16.42 hours hit on the port side in tank #9, killing a British deck boy. The remaining men abandoned ship in the port lifeboat and the master ordered the starboard lifeboat containing 24 men to head for nearest land, while the motorboat and the port lifeboat stayed near the ship.

The master and four crew members then reboarded the tanker, rigged up a new antenna and managed to establish a radio contact with a land station. They also transferred some petrol to the motorboat and abandoned the vessel. At 02.30 hours on 6 March, the master and six crewmen again reboarded the O.A. Knudsen in order to save the vessel. 15 minutes later, U-128 began shelling the tanker, which caught fire and eventually sank. The master and five men had been injured by shrapnel during the shelling before they were able to leave the ship with the motorboat. In the evening, they spotted the starboard lifeboat and took it in tow. Land was reached in the night, but they gave up trying to find a suitable landing place. On 7 March, the boats were taken in tow by a schooner, which landed them at Cornwall, Abaco Island. On 10 March, an able seaman died of wounds in a hospital and was buried on Abaco Island.

U-50 kasserar in den skalpen och fortsätter. I nattmörker hamnar det mindre fraktfartyget Plow City in U-50 klor. Ytläge, kort håll, en av varje G7a och G7e, men bara en träff som är en blindgångare. Däckskanonen klarar dock jobbet.



At 20.10 hours on 22 May 1942 the unescorted and unarmed Plow City (Master George Hazeleaf) was hit by one torpedo from U-588 about 200 miles off Cape May, New Jersey. At 15.00 hours, the ship had spotted the sail of a lifeboat from Peisander, which had been sunk by U-653 (Feiler) on 17 May, but the master suspected an U-boat and fled the area on a zigzag course at eight knots. The U-boat had noticed the smoke and chased the ship for four hours before firing a spread of two torpedoes. The first missed by about five feet ahead and the second struck on the port side aft of the #2 hold at the waterline. The second mate was blown overboard by the explosion and drowned. The watch below secured the engines and the most of the eight officers and 23 crewmen abandoned ship in two lifeboats, while the radio operator stayed behind to send distress messages. At 20.22 hours, a coup de grâce hit the engine room on the starboard side and caused the ship to sink by the stern within three minutes.

One survivor was taken aboard the U-boat for questioning and the Germans returned him along with rations of cigarettes and rum to one of the lifeboats. They also rightened one of the boats that capsized during launching before leaving the area. The survivors were picked up after five days by the American patrol yacht USS Sapphire.

U-50 påträffar inga ytterligare mål under patrullen, utan vänder hemåt och får en lugn resa. Men det kanske är så att det korkas upp segerskumpa (sekt så klart!) när man passerar Biscayabukten. Lite väl tidigt. Ett ubåtsjaktflygplan "dyker upp"  och flygvarnaren är inte riktigt på alerten.



Anfallet lämnar chefen lätt skadad och hälften besättningen lätt resp allvarligt skadade (stod alla på däck och skålade?) med vattenintag x 2 samt skrovskada. Lv-servisen var dock hyfsat med på noterna och flygplanet skadas av lv-eld. U-50 hinner dyka innan nästa attack kommer.

Väl hemma når besättningen veteranstatus. Nu är det bara Otto Kretchmer som sänkt mer tonnage.