Rod Mather, University of Rhode Island Applied History Lab. At some point, Greger must have made the decision to scuttle and abandon the U-85. Meanwhile, Freden was not sinking and Freden's captain ordered everyone back aboard to resume getting underway. The depth charges killed the entire U-85 crew. The German commander said he carried out the attack because there might have been communications equipment on the survivors rafts and the Laconia Order forbade him from helping the crews of sunk enemy ships. [6] U-85 lies in less than 100ft (30m) of water; the United States Navy briefly attempted to salvage her. The defense presented that the LI had objected to the actions of his CO and the seaman was simply following orders. However, before reaching land the U-boat came under attack from six RAF bombers from 621 Squadron. The crew was interned and sent to POW camps, after which they were charged when the war ended. (Photo: NOAA), A photomosaic, site plan and dive slate are a few of the products produced for U-85 by Monitor National Marine Sanctuary. Kptlt. Mountain View Hand grenades were also hurled at the remaining lifeboats. The wreck site of U-85 now rests in about 110 feet (34 m) of water 14 miles (23 km) east of Oregon Inlet along the Outer Banks. Each shipwreck tells a unique story; today we visit the U-85. The submarine was powered by two MAN M 6 V 40/46 four-stroke, six-cylinder supercharged diesel engines producing a total of 2,800 to 3,200 metric horsepower (2,060 to 2,350kW; 2,760 to 3,160shp) for use while surfaced, two BBC GG UB 720/8 double-acting electric motors producing a total of 750 metric horsepower (550kW; 740shp) for use while submerged. It was either the last or second-to-last (probably the latter) German submarine sunk by U.S. forces in World War II, one day before Germany's official surrender in Europe. As Roper began to close in on U-85, the crew suspected that they were pursuing a submarine. [3] The U-boat had a total length of 87.58m (287ft 4in), a pressure hull length of 68.50m (224ft 9in), a beam of 7.50m (24ft 7in), a height of 10.20m (33ft 6in), and a draught of 5.35m (17ft 7in). She sank the Thistleglen on 10 September northeast of Cape Farewell (Greenland). They did this while the rest of the crew remained below decks. The Peleus Affair. Significance: U-85 is significant to American military history, maritime history and historic archaeology as it was the first German U-boat sunk by United States naval forces off the American East Coast during World War II's Battle of the Atlantic. However, before reaching land the U-boat came under attack from six RAF bombers from 621 Squadron. The visibility and water temperature vary widely depending on the dynamic, shifting currents. KL Heinz Wilhelm Eck of U-852 was indicted and sentenced to death by firing squad at the Nuremberg Tribunal on November 30 1945. Rathke mistook this for the vessel running off full-speed and gave up chasing Freden. The survivors of U-352 were later interrogated and remained in various prisoner of war camps for the duration of the war, often intermingling with survivors from U-701. (All photos: NOAA), Schools of fish swarm U-85s conning tower with its attack periscope housing still intact. Amid the sinking wreckage were the survivors jammed packed in lifeboats and rafts. They dived the wreck to a depth of approximately 12,500 feet (3,800 m) in the MIR submersible from the Russian research ship Akademik Mstislav Keldysh. Today, the U-352 is one of North Carolina's signature wreck sites. HMT Bedfordshire is one vessel included in the proposal. This site was discovered in 1974 by Olympus owner and Captain, George Purifoy, and several friends. They then returned to the site and collected 33 survivors, one of which died aboard the Icarus shortly thereafter. When Greger realized that U-85 was being tracked, he was in very shallow water; therefore, he evidently decided to try escaping on the surface. There are tidbits of useful info for us in locating the wreck, such as the sand, the ladder to climb the cliffs, the destruction of large bow and stern sections and the (hopefully exaggerated) 200m to the shore line (100m measured on google maps for . In 1942 he volunteered for the U-boat force and was accepted for training at Pillau on 8 June 1942. In fact, he was still in Rhode Island Sound when the U.S. frigate Moberly (PF-63) and destroyer escorts Amick (DE168) and Atherton (DE-168) commenced the hunt for the submarine 90 minutes after the Black Point sank. In 1927, Hawaiian Steamship Company sold her again, this time to C.H. Report an Error, Site Index This month we visit U-701. The remains of this little-known battlefield serve as the final resting place for 90 ships and nearly 1,700 men lost during the Battle of the Atlantic. USS Fairmont, later renamed Black Point, in harbor on a winter day, circa 1918-1919. Hutton. Fearing that the survivors of his torpedo attack would be rescued and give away his presence, Eck ordered for all the survivors to be machine gunned. Was. Evidently during the process of launching boats, Freden turned the stern towards U-352 so as to present a smaller target. German Type IXD2 submarines were considerably larger than the original Type IXs. To view additional site plans click here. Roper evaded the torpedo and U-85 turned sharply to starboard when the range closed to 300 yards (270m). The outer hull is gone at the bow, exposing the pressure hull and the four forward torpedo tubes. Abrams, Preserving Americas Underwater Battlefield: U-352, Preserving Americas Underwater Battlefield: the Tamaulipas, Preserving Americas Underwater Battlefield: U-701, Preserving Americas Underwater Battlefield: W.E. Shipwrecks and maritime incidents in May 1944, "Heinz-Wilhelm Eck: Siegerjustiz and the Peleus Affair", "Forgotten Campaign: The Dutch East Indies Campaign 19411942", https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=German_submarine_U-852&oldid=1147548307, World War II shipwrecks in the Indian Ocean, Military history of British Somaliland during World War II, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License 3.0, 20.8 knots (38.5km/h; 23.9mph) surfaced, 57nmi (106km; 66mi) at 4 knots (7.4km/h; 4.6mph) submerged, This page was last edited on 31 March 2023, at 17:36. Wolfgang Schwender, an enlisted engineer, who said he only shot at debris not survivors - until being replaced by the reluctant Lenz - received 15 years (but was paroled six years later, in 1951). The pressure hull is ruptured and accessible at multiple points. comments sorted by Best Top New Controversial Q&A Add a Comment . Roper returned after daylight and recovered the bodies of 29 sailors. U-85 was fitted with five 53.3cm (21in) torpedo tubes (four fitted at the bow and one at the stern), fourteen torpedoes, one 8.8cm (3.46in) SK C/35 naval gun, 220 rounds, and one 2cm (0.79in) anti-aircraft gun The boat had a complement of between forty-four and sixty.[1]. Despite having missed, the crew aboard the Freden believed they would be hit and decided to abandon the ship. The following day, Greger surfaced U-85 intending on conducting repairs and resuming his patrol. Rouse, Parke, Jr., "Under the Cloak of Night", U.S. National Register of Historic Places, "2008 Battle of the Atlantic Survey Methodology", "Home Found for "Enigmatic" WW II U-boat Relic", U-85 Memorial Page with Crew members' birth dates and places, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=German_submarine_U-85_(1941)&oldid=1119483562, World War II Shipwrecks along the East Coast and Gulf of Mexico MPS, 2,8003,200PS (2,1002,400kW; 2,8003,200bhp) (diesels), 90nmi (170km; 100mi) at 4 knots (7.4km/h; 4.6mph) submerged, Schlagetot (20 October 1 November 1941), This page was last edited on 1 November 2022, at 20:56. As a result, rather than rescuing the crew of the U-85, Roper rode right through the mass of sailors in the water and dropped an additional 11 depth charges to ensure that it was sunk. Posted by: dozmataz_buckshank Date: October 14, 2016 05:31PM. As the gap between the vessels closed, it became a surface engagement. Despite frequent disturbance as a popular dive site, the wreck retains archaeological integrity and to this day remains an important and poignant war grave. Sitting in very shallow water and knowing they were being tracked, the crew of U-85 decided to try to escape on the surface, hoping that their increased speed would get the U-boat into deeper water before Roper could attack. (Photo: Steve Sellers, ECU/NOAA), NOAA-UBOAT-143 NOAA diver tracks a sand tiger shark as it circles U-85. Two other officers of U-852, the 2WO and the doctor were also indicted and shot. This was the birth of the U-boat as an offensive weapon. This month well visit the HMT Bedfordshire. A British boarding party examined the wrecked U-boat and retrieved Eck's Kriegstagebuch ("War Diary"), which proved crucial in constructing the Allied case against him and his men. Over the next several hours, Rathke got off two torpedoes, both of which missed. Saling ship Zawisza Czarny and its German WWII engine, The Norwegian Operation and the Torpedo Crisis. Image showing the location of the main wreckage of the Black Point relative to a smaller section of the ship's stern, approximately 1,800 feet south. Read about one of the most interesting events of the U-boat of WWII when Heinz-Wilhelm Eck of U-852 ordered the wreck of the torpedoed merchant Peleus destroyed with machine-gun fire. Fearing that they may attempt to man their deck guns, Icarus began delivering heavy machine-gun fire, which resulted in the deaths of several crew aboard the U-boat. His commander-in-training patrol was aboard the famous U-124, commanded by his classmate Johann Mohr, from 28 October 1942 to 21 February 1943. The hearing was known as the Peleus Trial. The story of the incident really began on a summer day of March 13, 1944. Joined later by the destroyer Ericsson (DD440), the American task force detected, attacked, and destroyed the U-853. Today, visitors to the cemetery can see the graves and read the names of the sailors that were recovered. Today, the submarine lies on the ocean floor almost within sight of the former Newport Torpedo Station which helped develop and test the underwater technology used to destroy it. On this patrol, U-85 returned to American waters, specifically off the United States coast. Some of these tubes still have visible torpedoes inside. National marine sanctuaries protect some of the most spectacular ocean and Great Lakes resources in the United States, including shipwrecks like the USS Monitor. Significance: U- 352 is significant to American military history, maritime history and historic archaeology as it was the first U-boat sunk by the United States Coast Guard off the American East Coast during World War II's Battle of the Atlantic. The Black Point was the last American merchant ship sunk by a German U-boat. After taking on fuel and fresh provisions, Greger was ready to take U-85 on a second war patrol, but this one too was a very frustrating and disappointing patrol. This month well visit the Ashkhabad. After having spent 43 days in the North Atlantic and being occasionally depth charged by planes, the U-85 found little and attacked nothing. Fatally wounded, the Black Point sank, killing 12 of the 46 men on board. This page covers the events related to U-boats since 1945, including boats taken over by the allies after the war and their eventual fate. Nachdem man erkannt hatte, dass U 852 mit Bordmitteln nicht zu reparieren war, befahl Eck, das Boot aufzugeben und zu zerstren. This year, Scuba Diver Life and NOAA are partnering to profile 12 different ships in the Graveyard of the Atlantic. For Lorenzo del Veneziano, an underwater marine archaeologist, it's an amazing. We were pretty sure before, but we had some members go to the National Archives in the UK to find . Scuba Diver Life Throughout the entire Second World War, the Kriegsmarine had only one U-boat commander convicted of war crimes. Diving U-85is the closest that many of us will come to experiencing what it was like during a World War II naval battle, says NOAA archaeologist Tane Casserley. The crew was interned and sent to POW camps, after which they were charged when the war ended. The most evil women in history, Ilse Koch. Throughout the entire Second World War, the Kriegsmarine had only one U-boat commander convicted of war crimes. She was laid down at the Flender Werke in Lbeck on 18 December 1939 as yard number 281. One of the most successful Hunter-Killers of WWII. The forward torpedo loading hatch, battery hatch, and forward personnel hatch are all clearly visible, as is the conning tower, the aft gun mount, and several of the submarines compressed air flasks. The much smaller stern section lies approximately 1,800 feet further south. Website owner: Office of National Marine Sanctuaries | National Ocean Service | NOAA | Department of Commerce. By this time, the United States had entered the war and Germany quickly brought U-boats to the East Coast of the United States. Two other officers of U-852, the 2WO and the doctor were also indicted and shot. Hans Richard Lenz was released already after 8 months and Wolfgang Schwender condemned to 15 years was released after 6 years in prison. Also, on the site, the density of red barbier baitfish and amberjack is such that it often hinders photographic documentation. The wreck of U-852 on the beach of Somaliland HMS Fishguard Crew - Boarded and spent nearly a month salvaging equipment and torpedoes from U-852 after British aircraft fatally damaged her as she beached near Ras Mabber, Somaliland off the Somali coast on 3 May 1944,. (Photo: NOAA), This post is by a guest blogger. Seven crewmen were lost in the engagement; the remainder fled ashore. 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