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Special U-boat Missions
Part I: Escort Duties

ESCORTING U-BOAT:
U-37 (type IX), 4th patrol; outbound Wilhelmshaven, 30/03/1940, inbound Wilhelmshaven, 18/04/1940

ESCORTED VESSEL:
Ehrenfels class German auxiliary cruiser HSK-2 / Schiff 16 Atlantis bound from Süderpiep Bay, Schleswig-Holstein to the Indian Ocean



ESCORTED FROM:
Süderpiep channel [pos: 54°6'N, 8°20'E], 01/04/1940

ESCORTED TO:
Denmark Strait, ca. 100 nm WNW of Reykjavik [pos: 64°57'N, 25°22'W], 07/04/1940



NOTES ON THE ESCORT:
this one was the first attempt by the German cruiser to breakthrough in the Atlantic. Besides U-37, her escort was composed of the torpedo boats Wolf and Leopard that accompanied the German raider in the very first leg of her passage into the North Sea. About when the group was getting into the dangerous waters between the Shetland Islands and the coast of Norway, the weather deteriorated. U-37 could no longer safely keep up with the raider and fell behind. Soon after, two warships were spotted on the horizon. Atlantis was pushed at her top speed of 17.5 knots in order to outrun her pursuers. The warships finally gave up the chase and disappeared, leaving Atlantis to slow down. She continued towards the north-east, only swinging west when she had reached the Murmansk to Iceland shipping lane, setting course for Jan Mayen Island. Shortly after she met again the U-37 and re-fuelled her. The raider and the U-boat proceeded then to the Denmark Strait where, in view of the sub-zero temperatures and harsh sea conditions that were threatening the safety of the submarine, they parted company. Atlantis made it through North Atlantic on 08/04/1940, whereas U-37 sailed along the western and the southern coasts of Iceland, and headed then back to Shetland where she sunk 3 ships before returning to base.

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ESCORTING U-BOAT:
U-64 (type IXb), 1st patrol; outbound Wilhelmshaven, 06/04/1940, sunk on 13/04/1940 by a 350-pound bomb from, while at anchor off Bjerkvik, near Narvik

ESCORTED VESSEL:
German auxiliary cruiser HSK-1 / Schiff 36 Orion bound from Süderpiep Bay to the Indian Ocean



ESCORTED FROM:
nowhere, never

ESCORTED TO:
nowhere, never



NOTES ON THE ESCORT:
this one was the first attempt by the German cruiser to breakthrough in the Atlantic. Right after her departure she was escorted by two torpedo boats, the 924-ton Möwe-class Seeadler and the 933-ton Wolf-class Luchs, and eight S-Boats. With the S-Boats dropping off that afternoon, and the torpedo boats following later, the raider headed north to meet the U-64 which had been assigned to escort her, but in sight of the imminent Operation Hartmut (German submarine operations during Operation Weserübung) the escort had been swiftly cancelled, and on the morning of 07/04/1940 Orion resumed her passage unescorted. The day after, she narrowly avoided becoming embroiled in a clash between a group of German destroyers and a British squadron, and later that day, four British destroyers were sighted escorting the minelayer HMS Teviot Bank. Two of them closed with the raider to inspect her more closely, but her disguise held out, and the destroyers resumed their patrol. Between northern Norway and Iceland, the German auxiliary criser received a signal from SKL stating that the U-37 would provide his escort, but as she too was withdrawn, Orion set course for Jan Mayen Island, from where she hugged the pack ice off Greenland, and sailed through the Denmark Strait before breaking through into the North Atlantic on 13/04/1940.

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ESCORTING U-BOAT:
U-29 (type VIIa), 7th patrol; outbound Lorient, 26/10/1940, inbound Wilhelmshaven, 03/12/1940

ESCORTED VESSEL:
German auxiliary cruiser HSK-3 / Schiff 21 Widder bound from North Atlantic to Brest



ESCORTED FROM:
Celtic Sea [48°45'N, 12°15'W], 29/10/1940

ESCORTED TO:
Brest, 31/10/1940



NOTES ON THE ESCORT:
Widder was the sister ship of the German auxiliary cruiser Orion. Both were equipped with old engines that were largely unsuitable for vessels engaged in sustained raider warfare. Toward the end of her front-line service, Widder's engines were completely out of order, and only capable of 7 knots after makeshift fixing. Finally, on 09/10/1940, having spent 5 months at sea, the German raider asked and received permission to end what had to be her first and last war patrol. Over the following 3 weeks she sailed, unescorted, northward for France avoiding enemy surveillance as best as she could given the condition of her engines. Eventually, U-29 was sent to escort her during the remaining miles toward the port of Brest. The escort was joined by several patrol boats over the final stretch. After a short permanence in Brest, on 02/11/1940, U-29 set sail to the Atlantic, NW of Ireland, where she served as meteorological station. She was eventually dismissed from the role of front line boat, and she acted as school boat for the remainder of the war.

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ESCORTING U-BOAT:
U-106 (type IXb), 2nd patrol; outbound Lorient, 26/02/1941, inbound Lorient , 17/06/1941

ESCORTED VESSEL:
German blockade runner Lech bound from Rio de Janeiro to Bordeaux



ESCORTED FROM:
ca. 75 nm SSE of Rio de Janeiro [pos: 24°09'S, 42°51'W], 28/04/1941

ESCORTED TO:
ca. 400 nmi NNW of St. Peter and Paul Rock [pos: 07°21'N, 31°09'W], mid May



NOTES ON THE ESCORT:
U-106 was patrolling together with U-105 the central Atlantic, off Cape Verde and West African coast when, in early April, despite adverse view by Doenitz, they were ordered to head South to Rio de Janeiro, and to wait for Lech that had to be escorted during her passage back to Europe. Seeing that Lech was delaying her departure, U-105 eventually resumed her regular patrol, whereas U-106 kept waiting for the German ship until 28/04/1941, when she left Rio with a valuable cargo which included 63 tons of nickel, 1,048 t of dry salted hides, 1,260 t of castor oil, 1,500 t of cottonseed cake, 5,891 kg of mica, 25 t of rock crystal, and 960 kg of coffee. Before starting the northward passage, the U-boat had to be supplied of fuel and provisions from Lech, but this process resulted quite laborious and it didn't finish until 02/05/1941, when the two vessels started resuming their planned route. U-106 accompanied Lech until mid May, when she had to refit again from Eagerland in order to resume her patrol off Free Town. Lech continued her passage to France, but she was eventually scuttled in Bay of Biscay when, on 28/05/1941, the British light cruiser HMS Edinburgh attacked her.

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ESCORTING U-BOATS:
U-75 (type VIIb), 3rd patrol; outbound St. Nazaire, 29/07/1941, inbound St. Nazaire, 25/08/1941
U-205 (type VIIc), 1st patrol; outbound Trondheim, 24/07/1941, inbound Lorient, 23/08/1941

ESCORTED VESSEL:
German auxiliary cruiser HSK-1 / Schiff 36 Orion bound from Indian Ocean to Bordeaux



ESCORTED FROM:
ca. 550 nm of Ponta Delgada, Azores [pos: 37°57'N, 37°18'W], 16/08/1941

ESCORTED TO:
Bay of Biscay, ca 30 nm NNE of Punta de Estaca de Bares [pos: 44°15'N, 07°18'W] , 22/08/1941



NOTES ON THE ESCORT:
U-75 and U-205 were operating in North Atlantic west of Ireland when they received instructions to stop their patrols and to set route to the Azores, where they had to rendezvous with the German raider Orion. The ship was back from her 510 days long patrol, short on fuel and with her engines in desperate need for an overhaul. U-75 and Orion met up on 16/08/1941 and headed then NNE to U-205's position, which they met the day after. The three vessels headed then east to the Bay of Biscay, staying in close formation until 21/08/1941, when U-75 left the group for a short diversion toward Portuguese waters. Orion and U-205 in turn kept on their route, and in the afternoon of 22/08/1941 they entered the Bay of Biscay, where they were joined by a group of 4 Narvik class destroyers. In the evening of the same day, anti-submarine vessels appeared under air cover provided by F o c k e-Wulf Condor aircraft, to be replaced just after midnight by minesweepers detailed to guide the raider through the Gironde minefield. Relieved from her escort duties U-205 headed directly to her home port, and so did U-75 a couple of days later.

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ESCORTING U-BOAT:
U-204 (type VIIc), 3rd patrol; outbound Brest, 20/09/1941, sunk on 19/10/1941 near Gibraltar Strait, by depth charges from the British corvette HMS Mallow and from the sloop HMS Rochester

ESCORTED VESSEL:
German blockade runner Rio Grande bound from Bordeaux to Kobe



ESCORTED FROM:
St. Nazaire, 23/09/1941

ESCORTED TO:
North Atlantic off Azores, unknown date
_____________________________________
No daily positions available for this patrol

Sep 1941 - 4th week
Western Approaches / Gibraltar Supply Route

NOTES ON THE ESCORT:
two boats, U-204 and U-109 had been initially detailed to act as escort for the outward bound steamer Rio Grande. Nonetheless, U-109 had to postpone her patrol due to engine trouble, thus leaving U-204 alone. The German submarine met with Rio Grande in St. Nazaire, from where they departed a few days later, bound to Azores. This course had to be altered due to the presence of Allied battleships that were waiting for the blockade runner off the Bay of Biscay. On 01/10/1941, two British Town class light destroyers, HMS Kenya and HMS Sheffield, made to intercept her. Rio Grande, still escorted by U-109, managed to escape, but another German vessel, the supply ship Kota Pinang, was sunk instead on 03/10/1941 (see below). Two days later the small German convoy came across the survivors of the Panamian cargo steamer Jon, that had been sunk the same day SW of Ireland [pos: 48°30' N, 13°00' W], probably by a F o c k e-Wulf 200 aircraft. They were picked up by U-204 and transferred aboard Rio Grande. The remaining part of the passage got along without further accidents. After accomplishing his escort mission, U-204 headed to an area W of Gibraltar, where an Allied convoy had been reported during the previous days, and on 16/10/1941, only 3 days before being sunk, she refitted from the supply ship Thalia, at dock in the Spanish port of Cadiz.

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ESCORTING U-BOATS:
U-129 (type IXc), 2nd patrol; outbound Lorient, 27/09/1941, inbound Lorient, 08/10/1941
U-79 (type VIIc), 4th patrol; outbound Lorient, 28/09/1941, inbound Salamis, 23/10/1941

ESCORTED VESSEL:
German supply ship Kota Pinang bound from Bordeaux to South Atlantic



ESCORTED FROM:
Bordeaux, 29/09/1941

ESCORTED TO:
ca. 590 nm W of Cape Finisterre [pos: 43°21'N, 22°45'W], 03/10/1941



NOTES ON THE ESCORT:
The Dutch motor-merchant Kota Pinag was seized in Rotterdam shortly after the Nazi occupation of Netherlands, in May 1940. After having served as merchant raider, on late September 1941 she received instructions to sail together with U-129 for South Atlantic, where she had to refit her escort and other U-boats in the area. Another submarine, U-79 joined the group in the Bay of Biscay, during the first leg of the long passage. On 03/10/1941 the German depot ship was intercepted and shelled from long range by the British light cruiser HMS Kenya. After her sinking, U-129 took aboard 119 survivors and 3 days later, before returning to base, turned them over to a Spanish tug near Cape Finisterre. By this time, U-79 had already bidden farewell and proceeded in her passage to the Mediterranean.

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ESCORTING U-BOATS:
U-129 (type IXc), 3rd patrol; outbound Lorient, 21/10/1941, inbound Lorient, 28/12/1941
U-124 (type IXb), 7th patrol; outbound Lorient, 30/10/1941, inbound Lorient, 29/12/1941

ESCORTED VESSEL:
German supply ship Python bound from St. Nazaire to South Atlantic



ESCORTED FROM:
St. Nazaire, 27/10/1941

ESCORTED TO:
ca. 670 nm WSW of Santiago, Cape Verde [pos: 10°03'N, 33°51'W], 20/11/1941



NOTES ON THE ESCORT:
On late September 1941 U-129 received instructions to escort the supply ship Python that was due to sail to South Atlantic, where she had to play the same role that only one month before had been assigned to the by now lost Kota Pinang. The two vessels met up in St. Nazaire, from where they sailed on 27/10/1941, followed after 3 days by U-124 (type IXb). This time, the passage didn't involve any accident: on 20/11/1941, the two U-boats refitted from the supply ship they had escorted till then and headed southward, in order to patrol South Atlantic down to the 23rd parallel S. Python in turn carried on her southbound passage unescorted but on 01/12/1941, while refitting U-A and U-68 ca. 710 nmi S of St. Helena [pos: 27°45'S, 04°09'W], she was intercepted by the British heavy cruiser HMS Dorsetshire, and she was eventually scuttled to avoid capture.


__________________________________________________ ______________________________


ESCORTING U-BOAT:
U-109 (type IXb), 3rd patrol; outbound Lorient, 05/10/1941, inbound Lorient, 18/11/1941

ESCORTED VESSEL:
German seized merchant ship Silvaplana bound from South Pacific to Bordeaux



ESCORTED FROM:
ca. 620 nm WNW of Ponta Delgada, Azores [pos: 40°39'N, 38°30'W], 07/11/1941

ESCORTED TO:
Bay of Biscay [pos: 44°15'N, 03°42'W], 16/11/1941



NOTES ON THE ESCORT:
The Norwegian motor merchant Silvaplana was captured by the German raider Atlantis on 10/09/1941 while she was sailing in South Pacific, between New Zealand and Society Islands. Bound from Singapore to New York, she was carrying 400 tons of crude rubber, 100,000 pounds of coffee, 50 crates of Balinese carved wooden idols, and a valuable mixed cargo of hides, tin, copper, wax, sago, vanilla and spices, plus a full deck cargo load of teak. After moving her cargo of rubber onboard Atlantis, and having been fitted out for the voyage, on 27/09/1941 she started her passage to Nazi occupied France with a prize crew onboard. Following a route around Cape Horn, she arrived Bordeaux on 17/11/1941, delayed because of bad storms and engine trouble. During the last leg of her passage to France, from Azores to Bay of Biscay, she was escorted by U-109 that was on her way back from a wolf pack patrol in North Atlantic.

__________________________________________________ ______________________________


ESCORTING U-BOATS:
U-652 (type VIIc), 3rd patrol, outbound Lorient, 01/11/1941, inbound Messina, 12/12/1941
U-561 (type VIIc), 3rd patrol; outbound Lorient, 01/11/1941, inbound Brest, 26/11/1941

ESCORTED VESSEL:
Ems class German auxiliary cruiser HSK-7 / Schiff 45 Komet bound from the Pacific to Cherbourg



ESCORTED FROM:
ca. 670 nm W of Ponta Delgada, Azores [pos: 37°03'N, 39°42'W], 17/11/1941

ESCORTED TO:
Bay of Biscay ca. 30 nm NNE of Punta de Estaca de Bares, Spain [pos: 44°15'N, 07°18'W], 23/11/1941



NOTES ON THE ESCORT:
on late September 1941, suffering from an engine trouble that had reduced her speed to 12 knots, Komet started her passage to France. In November, at the end of their patrols in mid-North Atlantic, U-561 and U-652 were ordered to attend a rendezvous with the German raider that they had to escort during the last leg of her journey. Among them, U-652 was the first one to make contact with the raider on 17/11/1941, followed by U-561 the next day. They sailed in close formation until 23/11/1941, when the two U-boats were relieved from their escort duties by three boats from the Eighth Minesweeper Flotilla and by Luftwaffe air coverage. From this moment U-561 set route for base, whereas U-652 started her passage to the Mediterranean. After a short stop in Bordeaux, protected by a group of torpedo boats, R-boats and minesweepers, the cruiser headed to Cherbourg (26/11/1941), and then to Dunkirk (28/11/1941) and Hamburg where, despite an attack by British bombers and Motor Torpedo Boats, she arrived unscathed on 30/11/1941.

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