Von Scheerbach
08-22-05, 06:43 PM
September 29, 1942 – Set sail from St Nazaire on our 4th war patrol in U-802. Our patrol sector is CB-22 off Halifax. The crew is somewhat subdued. The Chief tells me they think 802 is an unlucky boat. While it’s true we did have to turn back on our second patrol in her and limp back to Lorient on one engine after just 7 days, we have managed to sink 26 ships for over 115,000 tons on the other 2 patrols. But the losses of 4 of their crewmates on our last patrol must weigh heavily on their minds. I know it does mine….they were 4 good petty officers, sailors all, and I miss them as much as any of the others. I miss the old U-53 myself, sometimes. She was good to us for 17 patrols. But we will make the Tommies pay this time out.
October 2, 1942 – 5 Sunderlands attacked us shortly before dawn. There was no time to dive, so I ordered the flak guns manned. The boys shot down all 5 planes, and we suffered no damage or casualties. Thank God for all the flak guns on this Type IX-C! I don’t think we would have made it in the old 53. I’ll bet the boys won’t think she’s so unlucky at breakfast this morning!
October 4, 1942 – Verdammt Britishers! A lone Hurricane dove out of the setting sun and dropped a 250 pounder close aboard. We have water in the aft torpedo room, engine room, and aft crew quarters, but all leaks are stopped and the pumps are working. The Chief estimates hull integrity at 50%. I can see in his eyes that he wants me to turn back, but he’s too proud to say it aloud. Diesel engines are operational and the batteries are intact. Electric engines will be back online in 2 hours. And the schweinehunde got away.....
October 5, 1942 – We did 4 test dives to 50, 75, 100, & 120 meters. No leaks and she held together. We’ll press on to Halifax. I’m not going home with 22 torpedoes again.
October 12, 1942 - We caught a C2 Cargo and a C3 Cargo unescorted in CE42. We put an eel into each. The C3 went up like a powder keg, but we had to surface and finish the C2 off with the deck gun. 14,000+ tons and we still have 20 torps left. Not a bad start.
October 16, 1942 - We ran into another C3 alone in CD18. We submerged, closed to 900 km, and sent her to the bottom with a single torpedo.
October 21, 1942 - Spotted a C2 sailing alone in CB37. A single fish under the stack did the trick. 4 torpedoes spent, 28000+ tons. We will be on station tomorrow with 18 torpedoes. Hunting should be good.
October 26, 1942 - Oskar has just picked up a huge convoy out of Halifax on the hydrophones. It looks like 21 merchants and 5 escorts. We've moved slightly up the coast of Nova Scotia to BB37. As soon as it's dark, I'll surface and get off a contact report to BdU, and then we'll make our attack run. Wunderbar!
Jan 3, 1943, ST NAZAIRE, Fr (Reuters) - German Naval High Command has issued a statement declaring the U-802, a month overdue from it's last patrol, missing and presumed lost. The U-802 sailed from St. Nazaire on September 29 and was commanded by KapitanLeutnant Otto von Scheerbach. Kaleun von Scheerbach was a veteran of 23 war patrols prior to Sept 29, and has sunk over 863,000 tons of Allied shipping, ranking as one of the top U Boat commanders in the German Navy. The last contact with U-802 occurred on Oct 26, when it sent in a report that it had intercepted a convoy off the coast of Nova Scotia, and was preparing to attack. The statement did not say whether U-802 had managed to sink any ships in the convoy. When contacted, the British Admiralty declined to comment, but a source that requested anonymity stated that a convoy, which sailed from Halifax on October 24, had docked at Liverpool on November 10 with no losses. Including Kaleun von Scheerbach, who is survived by a wife, 2 children, and a brother who is kommandant of Luft Stalag 17 in Germany, the U-802 had 55 souls on board.
May 16, 2005
"Hi everybody, and welcome to the History Channel. I'm John Chatterton. Last September, a scientific team from the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institute was studying some deep sea thermal vents off the coast of Nova Scotia when they made an incredible discovery: The wreck of a World War II German U Boat. Today, Richie Kohler and I have returned to the site with our friends from Ifremer and the deep sea submersible Nautile to take a closer look at the wreck. Hopefully Richie and I will be able to figure out two things: Who she is, and how she got there. So stay tuned for the next episode of Deep Sea Detectives, here on the History Channel."
October 2, 1942 – 5 Sunderlands attacked us shortly before dawn. There was no time to dive, so I ordered the flak guns manned. The boys shot down all 5 planes, and we suffered no damage or casualties. Thank God for all the flak guns on this Type IX-C! I don’t think we would have made it in the old 53. I’ll bet the boys won’t think she’s so unlucky at breakfast this morning!
October 4, 1942 – Verdammt Britishers! A lone Hurricane dove out of the setting sun and dropped a 250 pounder close aboard. We have water in the aft torpedo room, engine room, and aft crew quarters, but all leaks are stopped and the pumps are working. The Chief estimates hull integrity at 50%. I can see in his eyes that he wants me to turn back, but he’s too proud to say it aloud. Diesel engines are operational and the batteries are intact. Electric engines will be back online in 2 hours. And the schweinehunde got away.....
October 5, 1942 – We did 4 test dives to 50, 75, 100, & 120 meters. No leaks and she held together. We’ll press on to Halifax. I’m not going home with 22 torpedoes again.
October 12, 1942 - We caught a C2 Cargo and a C3 Cargo unescorted in CE42. We put an eel into each. The C3 went up like a powder keg, but we had to surface and finish the C2 off with the deck gun. 14,000+ tons and we still have 20 torps left. Not a bad start.
October 16, 1942 - We ran into another C3 alone in CD18. We submerged, closed to 900 km, and sent her to the bottom with a single torpedo.
October 21, 1942 - Spotted a C2 sailing alone in CB37. A single fish under the stack did the trick. 4 torpedoes spent, 28000+ tons. We will be on station tomorrow with 18 torpedoes. Hunting should be good.
October 26, 1942 - Oskar has just picked up a huge convoy out of Halifax on the hydrophones. It looks like 21 merchants and 5 escorts. We've moved slightly up the coast of Nova Scotia to BB37. As soon as it's dark, I'll surface and get off a contact report to BdU, and then we'll make our attack run. Wunderbar!
Jan 3, 1943, ST NAZAIRE, Fr (Reuters) - German Naval High Command has issued a statement declaring the U-802, a month overdue from it's last patrol, missing and presumed lost. The U-802 sailed from St. Nazaire on September 29 and was commanded by KapitanLeutnant Otto von Scheerbach. Kaleun von Scheerbach was a veteran of 23 war patrols prior to Sept 29, and has sunk over 863,000 tons of Allied shipping, ranking as one of the top U Boat commanders in the German Navy. The last contact with U-802 occurred on Oct 26, when it sent in a report that it had intercepted a convoy off the coast of Nova Scotia, and was preparing to attack. The statement did not say whether U-802 had managed to sink any ships in the convoy. When contacted, the British Admiralty declined to comment, but a source that requested anonymity stated that a convoy, which sailed from Halifax on October 24, had docked at Liverpool on November 10 with no losses. Including Kaleun von Scheerbach, who is survived by a wife, 2 children, and a brother who is kommandant of Luft Stalag 17 in Germany, the U-802 had 55 souls on board.
May 16, 2005
"Hi everybody, and welcome to the History Channel. I'm John Chatterton. Last September, a scientific team from the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institute was studying some deep sea thermal vents off the coast of Nova Scotia when they made an incredible discovery: The wreck of a World War II German U Boat. Today, Richie Kohler and I have returned to the site with our friends from Ifremer and the deep sea submersible Nautile to take a closer look at the wreck. Hopefully Richie and I will be able to figure out two things: Who she is, and how she got there. So stay tuned for the next episode of Deep Sea Detectives, here on the History Channel."