SUBSIM Radio Room Forums - View Single Post

gap · 10-29-12, 04:34 PM

continued from HERE

ESCORTING U-BOAT:
U-432 (type VIIc), 4th patrol, outbound La Pallice, 21/01/1942, inbound La Pallice 16/03/1942

ESCORTED VESSEL:
Inverbank class German blockade runner / supply ship / auxiliary minelayer Schiff 53 Doggerbank, bound from La Pallice to Japan

ESCORTED FROM:
La Pallice, 21/01/1942

ESCORTED TO:
ca. 700 nm W of Ponta Delgada, Azores [pos: 35°15'N, 39°42'W], 01/02/1942

NOTES ON THE ESCORT:
laid down as the British merchant vessel Speybank, and captured on 31/12/1941 by the auxiliary cruiser Atlantis while sailing in the Indian Ocean, Doggerbank was dispatched to France where she was recommissioned in Kriegsmarine as a minelayer, and rearmed accordingly. Her first mission was to lay mines off the coast of South Africa (Operation "Kopenhagen"), and then to proceed to Japan. During the first leg of her passage into the Atlantic she was escorted by U-432. The U-boat proceeded then to her patrol area, off the eastern coast of USA.

__________________________________________________ ______________________________

ESCORTING U-BOAT:
U-582 (type VIIc), 2nd patrol; outbound Brest, 19/03/1942, inbound Brest, 24/05/1942

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

ESCORTED FROM:
nowhere, never

ESCORTED TO:
nowhere, never

NOTES ON THE ESCORT:
from 01/04/1942 U-582 stationed ca. 550 nm W of Ponta Delgada, Azores [pos: 38°51'N, 37°18'W], from where she had to escort the German freighter Rio Grande during the last leg of her passage from Japan to France. The escort mission had to be cancelled when it resulted that the blockade runner was late on the planned rendezvous and, after a 7 days long wait, U-582 received instructions to patrol North Atlantic between Bermuda and US coast. Rio Grande docked at Bordeaux on 16/04/1942.

__________________________________________________ ______________________________

ESCORTING U-BOATS:
U-437 (type VIIc), 2nd patrol; outbound St. Nazaire, 29/04/1942, inbound St. Nazaire, 18/05/1942
U-68 (type IXc), 4th patrol: outbound Lorient, 14/05/1942, inbound Lorient, 10/07/1942

ESCORTED VESSEL:
German blockade runner Münsterland, bound from Yokohama to Bordeaux

ESCORTED FROM:
ca. 530 nm WNW of Ponta Delgada, Azores [pos: 41°33'N, 36°06'W], 09/05/1942

ESCORTED TO:
Bay of Biscay, ca. 50 nm NNW of Ferrol [pos: 44°15'N, 08°30'W], 15/05/1942

NOTES ON THE ESCORT:
on late April 1942, U-437 was dispatched to Azores, where she rendezvoused with the blockade Runner Münsterland, following her on her way back to France. A second rendezvous was planned for mid May, when U-68 had to join the group in the south-eastern reaches of Bay of Biscay, with instructions to help escorting the blockade runner to Bordeaux. Shortly after making contact, the German convoy was attacked by Allied aircraft and had to be disbanded. Münsterland went on to Bordeaux alone, and U-437 in turn headed back to St. Nazaire. Having suffered minor damage from the air raid, U-68 was forced to sneak into Ferrol where, moored alongside the interned German vessel Max Albrecht, she completed repairs and topped off fuel, before heading west for the Caribbean.

__________________________________________________ ______________________________

ESCORTING U-BOATS:
U-264 (type VIIc), 2nd patrol; outbound St. Nazaire, 10/01/1943, inbound St. Nazaire, 05/03/1943
U-258 (type VIIc), 3rd patrol; outbound La Pallice, 10/01/1943, inbound La Pallice, 04/03/1943
U-437 (type VIIc), 5th patrol; St. Nazaire, 04/02/1943, St. Nazaire, 05/03/1943

ESCORTED VESSEL:
German seized oil tanker Hohenfriedberg , bound from Yokohama, Japan to France

ESCORTED FROM:
ca. 470 nm WSW of Ponta Delgada, Azores [pos: 33°27'N, 33°42'W], 20/02/1943

ESCORTED TO:
ca. 260 nm NNE of Ponta Delgada, Azores [pos: 41°33'N, 22°54'W], 26/02/1943

NOTES ON THE ESCORT:
The Norwegian motor tanker Herborg was on a voyage from Abadan in Iran to Freemantle in Australia with 11,000 tons of crude oil on board, when she was spotted and attacked by the auxiliary cruiser Thor. She was soon surrendered, as her old 3 inch gun could offer only little resistance against the German raider. After capture the tanker was renamed Hohenfriedberg and sent to Japan, from where, on 11/11/1942, she started her journey to France. Upon approaching Azores she was assigned an escort and U-264 and U-258, that had been operating with wolf packs Delphin and Rochen in an area between Azores and Morocco, rendezvoused with her before returning home. After a few days the group rejoined with another U-boat, U-437, that was operating with wolf pack Robbe an area N of Azores, and headed then straight to bay of Biscay. On 26/02/1943 the group was spotted by an USAF Liberator and shortly after she was attacked by the British heavy cruiser HMS Sussex. The German tanker was forced to scuttle to avoid capture. U-264 launched a full salvo at the cruiser, but missed, and Sussex left the area unscathed. After rescuing the survivors, the 3 U-boats headed back to their bases.

__________________________________________________ ______________________________

ESCORTING U-BOAT:
U-378 (type VIIc), 6th patrol; outbound Hammerfest, 15/03/1943, inbound Trondheim, 01/04/1943

ESCORTED VESSEL:
German weather observation trawler WBS-2 Coburg, bound from Hammerfest to Bjørnøya

ESCORTED FROM:
Hammerfest, 15/03/1943

ESCORTED TO:
Norwegian Sea off Bjørnøya, 18/03/1943

NOTES ON THE ESCORT:
Coburg had to land the automatic weather station "Wetter-Funkgerät-Land 23 Erwin II" on Bjørnøya (Operation "Brausewetter"), in order to replace the older WFL-22 Erwin that had been landed by U-657 (type VIIc) between Nov-Dec 42. After leaving Coburg, U-378 patrolled shortly the Norwegian Sea before heading back to base.

__________________________________________________ ______________________________

ESCORTING U-BOAT:
U-355 (type VIIc), 8th patrol; outbound Hammerfest, 02/10/1943, inbound Hammerfest, 25/10/1943

ESCORTED VESSEL:
German weather observation trawler WBS-3 Carl J. Bush bound, from Hammerfest to Liefdefjorden, Spitsbergen, Svalbard Archipelago, and back to Hammerfest

ESCORTED FROM:
Hammerfest, 02/10/1943

ESCORTED TO:
Sørdalsflya Bay, Spitsbergen [pos: 79°41'N 13°10'E], 06/10/1943

ESCORTED FROM:
Sørdalsflya Bay, 19/10/1943

ESCORTED TO:
Hammerfest, 25/10/1943

NOTES ON THE ESCORT:
C.J. Bush, accompanied by U-355, had to transport a weather party to Liefdefjorden (Operation "Kreutzritter"). She was heavily laden, and only made four knots against the strong north winds. Nonetheless, on 06/10/1943 the trawler and her escort layed off the north coast of Vestpitsbergen. By ill chance the trawler ran aground when feeling her way up Woodfjord and the equipment and stores had perforce to be unloaded near Sørdalsflya. During her unloading U-355 inspected the surrounding area. By 17/10/1943 the U-boat went back at Sørdalsflya. C.J.Busch had meanwhile been refloaded and the trawler and her escort left for home on 19/10/1943.

__________________________________________________ ______________________________

ESCORTING U-BOAT:
U-956 (type VIIc), 4th patrol; outbound Narvik, 08/01/1944, inbound Skjomenfjord, 18/01/1944

ESCORTED VESSEL:
German weather observation trawler WBS-8 Hessen, bound from Tromsø to Greenland Sea

ESCORTED FROM:
Norwegian Sea, ca. 200 nm W of Bjørnøya [pos: 74°51'N, 06°30'E], 12/01/1944

ESCORTED TO:
Skjomenfjord, 18/01/1944

NOTES ON THE ESCORT:
Hessen had to act as a floating weather station in an area between Greenland and Svalbard (Operation "Einsiedler"), but soon after her departure (07/01/1944) she ran into severe gales, suffering a break of the engine's crankshaft as she approached the ice edge NW of Bear Island, on 10/01/1944. She drifted nearly 250 miles before U-956 made contact with her 2 days later. The U-boat stood off until the weather moderated, and then towed the Hessen to Skjomenfjord, from where she was moved back to Tromsø on 20/01/1944.

__________________________________________________ ______________________________

ESCORTING U-BOAT:
U-703 (type VIIc), 12th patrol, outbound Narvik, 20/08/1944, inbound Narvik, 12/09/1944

ESCORTED VESSEL:
German weather observation trawler WBS-6 Kehdingen, bound to east Greenland

ESCORTED FROM:
Norwegian Sea, ca. 100 nm WNW of North Cape, 28/08/1944

ESCORTED TO:
Greenland Sea, ca. 60 nm E of Store Koldewey island, [pos: 75°45'N, 14°30'W ], 01/09/1944

NOTES ON THE ESCORT:
Kehdingen, escorted by U-703, had to land a weather party near Lille Koldewey station (Operation "Edelweiss"). On 01/09/1944 they reached the edge of the ice. U-703 had just finished refuelling from the trawler before departing, when an approaching vessel was spotted. It was the coastal guard USCG Northland. Kehdingen attempted an escape into the ice, but she eventually became beset off the southern tip of Koldewey. The crew abandoned the ship and scuttled her. U-307 attempted to attack the American cutter. One torpedo struck an ice floe and did not damage. Hampered by the ice and unable to take any further action, the U-boat withdrew and finally set route to base.

__________________________________________________ ______________________________

ESCORTING U-BOAT:
U-307 (type VIIc), 9th patrol; outbound Tromsø, 09/09/1944, inbound Narvik 07/10/1944

ESCORTED VESSEL:
German weather observation trawler WBS-3 Carl J. Bush, bound from Tromsø to Rijpfjorden, Nordaustlandet, Svalbard archipelago, and then back to Narvik

ESCORTED FROM:
Tromsø, 09/09/1944

ESCORTED TO:
Wordiebukta bay, Nordaustlandet island [pos: 80°04'N 22°20'E], 14/09/1944

ESCORTED FROM:
Wordiebukta bay, 27/09/1944

ESCORTED TO:
Narvik, 07/10/1944

NOTES ON THE ESCORT:
The C.J. Bush and U-307 had to land a weather party on the northern coast of Nordaustlandet, Svalbard (Operation "Haudegen"). Before leaving Tromsø, the party and its stores were equally divided between the two vessels. After a short stop in Hammerfest, the group set route to the eastern coast of Svalbard archipelago, avoiding so the western coast, where a group of British destroyers had been reported off Spitsbergen. During the passage, U-307 spotted an Allied taskforce near Bjørnøya, but the German expedition managed to pass through unobserved. On 14/09/1944 they finally anchored in Rijpfjorden, Nordaustlandet island. After dropping expedition members and equipments, U-307 circumnavigated Nordaustlandet, in order to ascertain any possible risk that they could have taken during the way back. Finally, the Geman trawler escorted by U-307 set sail again on 27/09/1944. Initially they headed west to Greenland Sea , but eventually they decided to get to Barents Sea through the narrow leg of sea between Spitsbergen and Nordaustlandet. From this point, the passage to the Norwegian mainland proceeded without accidents. After stops in Hammerfest and Tromsø, the two boats entered Narvik on 07/10/19.

__________________________________________________ ______________________________

ESCORTING U-BOAT:
U-965 (type VIIc), 3rd patrol; outbound Tromsø, 26/09/1944, inbound Narvik, 23/10/1944

ESCORTED VESSEL:
German weather observation trawler WBS-11 Externsteine, bound from Tromsø to Lille Koldewey, Greenland [pos: 76°45'N, 18°44'W]

ESCORTED FROM:
Tromsø, 26/09/1944

ESCORTED TO:
Greenland Sea, between Greenland and Svalbard [pos: 76°39'N, 11°30'W], 29/09/1944

NOTES ON THE ESCORT:
The Extersteine had to land a weather party in the station of Lille Koldewey (Operation "Edelweiss II"). After reaching the ice edge, U-965 headed back to Narvik. A few days later the ship and the landing party were spotted by patrolling American planes. Soon after the USCG Icebreakers Eastwind and Southwind attacked the German expedition. Externsteine tried to run south, but she ran into heavy ice and became beset. She was captured on 16/10/1944, and later recommissioned in the USS Navy as USS Callao.

__________________________________________________ ____________________________

ESCORTING U-BOAT:
U-235 (type VIIc), 1st patrol; outbound Kiel, 10/04/1945, sunk in error in the Kattegat on 14/04/1945, by depth charges from the German torpedo boat T17

ESCORTED VESSEL:
none

ESCORTED FROM:
nowhere, never

ESCORTED TO:
nowhere, never

NOTES ON THE ESCORT:
had not been sunk, U-235 should have acted as an escort for the German coastal convoys between Stavanger y Kristiansand.

10-29-12, 04:34 PM	#2241
gap Navy Seal Join Date: Jan 2011 Location: CJ8937 Posts: 8,214 Downloads: 793 Uploads: 10	Special U-boat Missions - Part I: Escort Duties / 2 continued from HERE ESCORTING U-BOAT: U-432 (type VIIc), 4th patrol, outbound La Pallice, 21/01/1942, inbound La Pallice 16/03/1942 ESCORTED VESSEL: Inverbank class German blockade runner / supply ship / auxiliary minelayer Schiff 53 Doggerbank, bound from La Pallice to Japan ESCORTED FROM: La Pallice, 21/01/1942 ESCORTED TO: ca. 700 nm W of Ponta Delgada, Azores [pos: 35°15'N, 39°42'W], 01/02/1942 NOTES ON THE ESCORT: laid down as the British merchant vessel Speybank, and captured on 31/12/1941 by the auxiliary cruiser Atlantis while sailing in the Indian Ocean, Doggerbank was dispatched to France where she was recommissioned in Kriegsmarine as a minelayer, and rearmed accordingly. Her first mission was to lay mines off the coast of South Africa (Operation "Kopenhagen"), and then to proceed to Japan. During the first leg of her passage into the Atlantic she was escorted by U-432. The U-boat proceeded then to her patrol area, off the eastern coast of USA. __________________________________________________ ______________________________ ESCORTING U-BOAT: U-582 (type VIIc), 2nd patrol; outbound Brest, 19/03/1942, inbound Brest, 24/05/1942 ESCORTED VESSEL: German blockade runner Rio Grande bound from Kobe to Bordeaux ESCORTED FROM: nowhere, never ESCORTED TO: nowhere, never NOTES ON THE ESCORT: from 01/04/1942 U-582 stationed ca. 550 nm W of Ponta Delgada, Azores [pos: 38°51'N, 37°18'W], from where she had to escort the German freighter Rio Grande during the last leg of her passage from Japan to France. The escort mission had to be cancelled when it resulted that the blockade runner was late on the planned rendezvous and, after a 7 days long wait, U-582 received instructions to patrol North Atlantic between Bermuda and US coast. Rio Grande docked at Bordeaux on 16/04/1942. __________________________________________________ ______________________________ ESCORTING U-BOATS: U-437 (type VIIc), 2nd patrol; outbound St. Nazaire, 29/04/1942, inbound St. Nazaire, 18/05/1942 U-68 (type IXc), 4th patrol: outbound Lorient, 14/05/1942, inbound Lorient, 10/07/1942 ESCORTED VESSEL: German blockade runner Münsterland, bound from Yokohama to Bordeaux ESCORTED FROM: ca. 530 nm WNW of Ponta Delgada, Azores [pos: 41°33'N, 36°06'W], 09/05/1942 ESCORTED TO: Bay of Biscay, ca. 50 nm NNW of Ferrol [pos: 44°15'N, 08°30'W], 15/05/1942 NOTES ON THE ESCORT: on late April 1942, U-437 was dispatched to Azores, where she rendezvoused with the blockade Runner Münsterland, following her on her way back to France. A second rendezvous was planned for mid May, when U-68 had to join the group in the south-eastern reaches of Bay of Biscay, with instructions to help escorting the blockade runner to Bordeaux. Shortly after making contact, the German convoy was attacked by Allied aircraft and had to be disbanded. Münsterland went on to Bordeaux alone, and U-437 in turn headed back to St. Nazaire. Having suffered minor damage from the air raid, U-68 was forced to sneak into Ferrol where, moored alongside the interned German vessel Max Albrecht, she completed repairs and topped off fuel, before heading west for the Caribbean. __________________________________________________ ______________________________ ESCORTING U-BOATS: U-264 (type VIIc), 2nd patrol; outbound St. Nazaire, 10/01/1943, inbound St. Nazaire, 05/03/1943 U-258 (type VIIc), 3rd patrol; outbound La Pallice, 10/01/1943, inbound La Pallice, 04/03/1943 U-437 (type VIIc), 5th patrol; St. Nazaire, 04/02/1943, St. Nazaire, 05/03/1943 ESCORTED VESSEL: German seized oil tanker Hohenfriedberg , bound from Yokohama, Japan to France ESCORTED FROM: ca. 470 nm WSW of Ponta Delgada, Azores [pos: 33°27'N, 33°42'W], 20/02/1943 ESCORTED TO: ca. 260 nm NNE of Ponta Delgada, Azores [pos: 41°33'N, 22°54'W], 26/02/1943 NOTES ON THE ESCORT: The Norwegian motor tanker Herborg was on a voyage from Abadan in Iran to Freemantle in Australia with 11,000 tons of crude oil on board, when she was spotted and attacked by the auxiliary cruiser Thor. She was soon surrendered, as her old 3 inch gun could offer only little resistance against the German raider. After capture the tanker was renamed Hohenfriedberg and sent to Japan, from where, on 11/11/1942, she started her journey to France. Upon approaching Azores she was assigned an escort and U-264 and U-258, that had been operating with wolf packs Delphin and Rochen in an area between Azores and Morocco, rendezvoused with her before returning home. After a few days the group rejoined with another U-boat, U-437, that was operating with wolf pack Robbe an area N of Azores, and headed then straight to bay of Biscay. On 26/02/1943 the group was spotted by an USAF Liberator and shortly after she was attacked by the British heavy cruiser HMS Sussex. The German tanker was forced to scuttle to avoid capture. U-264 launched a full salvo at the cruiser, but missed, and Sussex left the area unscathed. After rescuing the survivors, the 3 U-boats headed back to their bases. __________________________________________________ ______________________________ ESCORTING U-BOAT: U-378 (type VIIc), 6th patrol; outbound Hammerfest, 15/03/1943, inbound Trondheim, 01/04/1943 ESCORTED VESSEL: German weather observation trawler WBS-2 Coburg, bound from Hammerfest to Bjørnøya ESCORTED FROM: Hammerfest, 15/03/1943 ESCORTED TO: Norwegian Sea off Bjørnøya, 18/03/1943 NOTES ON THE ESCORT: Coburg had to land the automatic weather station "Wetter-Funkgerät-Land 23 Erwin II" on Bjørnøya (Operation "Brausewetter"), in order to replace the older WFL-22 Erwin that had been landed by U-657 (type VIIc) between Nov-Dec 42. After leaving Coburg, U-378 patrolled shortly the Norwegian Sea before heading back to base. __________________________________________________ ______________________________ ESCORTING U-BOAT: U-355 (type VIIc), 8th patrol; outbound Hammerfest, 02/10/1943, inbound Hammerfest, 25/10/1943 ESCORTED VESSEL: German weather observation trawler WBS-3 Carl J. Bush bound, from Hammerfest to Liefdefjorden, Spitsbergen, Svalbard Archipelago, and back to Hammerfest ESCORTED FROM: Hammerfest, 02/10/1943 ESCORTED TO: Sørdalsflya Bay, Spitsbergen [pos: 79°41'N 13°10'E], 06/10/1943 ESCORTED FROM: Sørdalsflya Bay, 19/10/1943 ESCORTED TO: Hammerfest, 25/10/1943 NOTES ON THE ESCORT: C.J. Bush, accompanied by U-355, had to transport a weather party to Liefdefjorden (Operation "Kreutzritter"). She was heavily laden, and only made four knots against the strong north winds. Nonetheless, on 06/10/1943 the trawler and her escort layed off the north coast of Vestpitsbergen. By ill chance the trawler ran aground when feeling her way up Woodfjord and the equipment and stores had perforce to be unloaded near Sørdalsflya. During her unloading U-355 inspected the surrounding area. By 17/10/1943 the U-boat went back at Sørdalsflya. C.J.Busch had meanwhile been refloaded and the trawler and her escort left for home on 19/10/1943. __________________________________________________ ______________________________ ESCORTING U-BOAT: U-956 (type VIIc), 4th patrol; outbound Narvik, 08/01/1944, inbound Skjomenfjord, 18/01/1944 ESCORTED VESSEL: German weather observation trawler WBS-8 Hessen, bound from Tromsø to Greenland Sea ESCORTED FROM: Norwegian Sea, ca. 200 nm W of Bjørnøya [pos: 74°51'N, 06°30'E], 12/01/1944 ESCORTED TO: Skjomenfjord, 18/01/1944 NOTES ON THE ESCORT: Hessen had to act as a floating weather station in an area between Greenland and Svalbard (Operation "Einsiedler"), but soon after her departure (07/01/1944) she ran into severe gales, suffering a break of the engine's crankshaft as she approached the ice edge NW of Bear Island, on 10/01/1944. She drifted nearly 250 miles before U-956 made contact with her 2 days later. The U-boat stood off until the weather moderated, and then towed the Hessen to Skjomenfjord, from where she was moved back to Tromsø on 20/01/1944. __________________________________________________ ______________________________ ESCORTING U-BOAT: U-703 (type VIIc), 12th patrol, outbound Narvik, 20/08/1944, inbound Narvik, 12/09/1944 ESCORTED VESSEL: German weather observation trawler WBS-6 Kehdingen, bound to east Greenland ESCORTED FROM: Norwegian Sea, ca. 100 nm WNW of North Cape, 28/08/1944 ESCORTED TO: Greenland Sea, ca. 60 nm E of Store Koldewey island, [pos: 75°45'N, 14°30'W ], 01/09/1944 NOTES ON THE ESCORT: Kehdingen, escorted by U-703, had to land a weather party near Lille Koldewey station (Operation "Edelweiss"). On 01/09/1944 they reached the edge of the ice. U-703 had just finished refuelling from the trawler before departing, when an approaching vessel was spotted. It was the coastal guard USCG Northland. Kehdingen attempted an escape into the ice, but she eventually became beset off the southern tip of Koldewey. The crew abandoned the ship and scuttled her. U-307 attempted to attack the American cutter. One torpedo struck an ice floe and did not damage. Hampered by the ice and unable to take any further action, the U-boat withdrew and finally set route to base. __________________________________________________ ______________________________ ESCORTING U-BOAT: U-307 (type VIIc), 9th patrol; outbound Tromsø, 09/09/1944, inbound Narvik 07/10/1944 ESCORTED VESSEL: German weather observation trawler WBS-3 Carl J. Bush, bound from Tromsø to Rijpfjorden, Nordaustlandet, Svalbard archipelago, and then back to Narvik ESCORTED FROM: Tromsø, 09/09/1944 ESCORTED TO: Wordiebukta bay, Nordaustlandet island [pos: 80°04'N 22°20'E], 14/09/1944 ESCORTED FROM: Wordiebukta bay, 27/09/1944 ESCORTED TO: Narvik, 07/10/1944 NOTES ON THE ESCORT: The C.J. Bush and U-307 had to land a weather party on the northern coast of Nordaustlandet, Svalbard (Operation "Haudegen"). Before leaving Tromsø, the party and its stores were equally divided between the two vessels. After a short stop in Hammerfest, the group set route to the eastern coast of Svalbard archipelago, avoiding so the western coast, where a group of British destroyers had been reported off Spitsbergen. During the passage, U-307 spotted an Allied taskforce near Bjørnøya, but the German expedition managed to pass through unobserved. On 14/09/1944 they finally anchored in Rijpfjorden, Nordaustlandet island. After dropping expedition members and equipments, U-307 circumnavigated Nordaustlandet, in order to ascertain any possible risk that they could have taken during the way back. Finally, the Geman trawler escorted by U-307 set sail again on 27/09/1944. Initially they headed west to Greenland Sea , but eventually they decided to get to Barents Sea through the narrow leg of sea between Spitsbergen and Nordaustlandet. From this point, the passage to the Norwegian mainland proceeded without accidents. After stops in Hammerfest and Tromsø, the two boats entered Narvik on 07/10/19. __________________________________________________ ______________________________ ESCORTING U-BOAT: U-965 (type VIIc), 3rd patrol; outbound Tromsø, 26/09/1944, inbound Narvik, 23/10/1944 ESCORTED VESSEL: German weather observation trawler WBS-11 Externsteine, bound from Tromsø to Lille Koldewey, Greenland [pos: 76°45'N, 18°44'W] ESCORTED FROM: Tromsø, 26/09/1944 ESCORTED TO: Greenland Sea, between Greenland and Svalbard [pos: 76°39'N, 11°30'W], 29/09/1944 NOTES ON THE ESCORT: The Extersteine had to land a weather party in the station of Lille Koldewey (Operation "Edelweiss II"). After reaching the ice edge, U-965 headed back to Narvik. A few days later the ship and the landing party were spotted by patrolling American planes. Soon after the USCG Icebreakers Eastwind and Southwind attacked the German expedition. Externsteine tried to run south, but she ran into heavy ice and became beset. She was captured on 16/10/1944, and later recommissioned in the USS Navy as USS Callao. __________________________________________________ ____________________________ ESCORTING U-BOAT: U-235 (type VIIc), 1st patrol; outbound Kiel, 10/04/1945, sunk in error in the Kattegat on 14/04/1945, by depth charges from the German torpedo boat T17 ESCORTED VESSEL: none ESCORTED FROM: nowhere, never ESCORTED TO: nowhere, never NOTES ON THE ESCORT: had not been sunk, U-235 should have acted as an escort for the German coastal convoys between Stavanger y Kristiansand. Last edited by gap; 11-02-12 at 12:03 PM.