On April 13, 1942, U- 85 was sitting in shallow water off Bodie Island lighthouse waiting for targets. [1], The submarine had a maximum surface speed of 17.9 knots (33.2km/h; 20.6mph) and a maximum submerged speed of 8 knots (15km/h; 9.2mph). Learn more about U-85 and other World War II shipwrecks off the North Carolina coast here. (Photo: Brett Seymour, NPS/NOAA), A sand tiger shark swims around the wreck of U-85. On that day, Donitz issued a radio communique instructing all U-boats to cease attacks on Allied shipping and return to Germany. The crew was interned and sent to POW camps, after which they were charged when the war ended. Command of the U-85 was given to Oberleutnent zur See Eberhard Greger. The most evil women in history, Ilse Koch. A set of pages designed to provide a good overview on the monumental battle that took place on the high seas during World War One. In protest, his Leading Engineer questioned his commanders order but could do little to change the fate of the survivors. Child soldier in the Soviet Union, 1944.. On the following day, Greger found a ship sailing alone, British freighter Empire Fusilier, which he fired upon and successfully sank. HMT Bedfordshire is one vessel included in the proposal. The site rests in approximately 90 feet of water about 14 miles east of Oregon Inlet. [5] After the war, the British government did successful experiments towing Fa 330s behind ships and jeeps, but the development of the helicopter quickly occupied the attention of the military. On 30 April 1944, U-852 was spotted in the Indian Ocean by a Vickers Wellington bomber flying from Aden. When they stopped the ship in order to launch the lifeboats, U-352 passed right by them without notice and somehow lost contact. ): U-860 (+1944) propulsion: diesel and batteries date built: The text is below: As U-852 broke the surface, her gun crews swarmed out and manned the anti-aircraft guns. They were convicted at a British military tribunal in Hamburg, (held concurrently during the Nuremberg Trials) for killing the survivors of the torpedoed Greek steamer Peleus in 1944. Rathke spotted Icarus, a 165-foot USCG Cutter, on antisubmarine patrol off Cape Lookout. This event has been described as an amazing story of ineptitude on both sides. Earlier that day the four-stack destroyer USS Roper set out from Norfolk on its way to Cape Hatteras for antisubmarine patrol. This website makes use of cookies to ensure that the website works properly. This year, Scuba Diver Life and NOAA are partnering to profile 12 different ships in the Graveyard of the Atlantic. The defense presented that the LI had objected to the actions of his CO and the seaman was simply following orders. The U-boat Memorial at Mltenort. As Roper began to close in on U-85, the crew suspected that they were pursuing a submarine. 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. You can clearly see the shell damage behind the conning tower caused by USSRopers 3-inch gun. He joined the Kriegsmarine in April 1943 as part of Crew 34. The U-boat with the longest operational service in World War II, spending 750 days at sea during 13 patrols from January 1941 to August 1944. This month we visit the F.W. The crew was interned and sent to POW camps, after which they were charged when the war ended. Website owner: Office of National Marine Sanctuaries | National Ocean Service | NOAA | Department of Commerce. Report an Error, Site Index She had two shafts and two 1.23m (4ft) propellers. 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,. This month we visit the W.E. The wreck lies on its starboard side with approximately an 80 list. KL Heinz Wilhelm Eck, pleaded operational justification during the trial. Their suspicions came true when the crew witnessed the track of a torpedo narrowly missing the Roper as it ran down the port side. It was the German U-boat sunk closest to the U.S. mainland. You are using an out of date browser. 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. German Type IXD2 submarines were considerably larger than the original Type IXs. Was. Shortly before Rathke fired his torpedoes, Icarus got a sonar contact. An investigation into a Swedish-Estonian ferry that sank into the Baltic Sea 27 years ago turned up no new evidence that would contradict the official investigation report, the Associated Press. Either way, as the Black Point came into range off Point Judith, Rhode Island, at 5:40 pm on May 5, Frmsdorf fired a torpedo that upon impact blew away about 40 feet of the merchant ships stern. Throughout the entire Second World War, the Kriegsmarine had only one U-boat commander convicted of war crimes. Both of which were part of the 6th U-boat Flotilla.During her short time in the war, she sank no . Contact Us The bodies were brought back to Norfolk and later that evening, they were buried in Hampton National Cemetery in Hampton, Virginia with full military honors under the cover of darkness. The U-852 was itself sunk on May 3 1944 by British aircraft off the coast of Somalia. On April 10, while off the New Jersey coast, U- 85 found its first target, Swedish freighter Christina Knudsen. The crew of the U-85 claimed to have scored at least one hit, but the vessel evidently did not sink and there were no confirming allied records of the incident. U-85 left for its fourth and final patrol on March 21, 1942. Click above to view a dive slate for U-85. Hutton. As the German sailors attempted to exit the conning tower to man their guns, they came under heavy fire from Ropers crew. Shortly after midnight, Roper approached the area where U-85 sat and detected a weak radar contact. The wreck lies on its starboard side with approximately an approximately 80-degree list. 650 Castro Street And with its 88-mm gun pointed toward the surface, U-85 looks like its still looking for Allied vessels to sink. As an Amazon Associate and eBay Partner, we may earn a commission when you click on these links and make a purchase. The boat attempted to run south on the surface and fired its stern torpedo at Roper when the range closed to 700 yards (640m). The deck gun of U-85 silently points towards the surface as if waiting on a target. The much smaller stern section lies approximately 1,800 feet further south. National marine sanctuaries protect some of the most spectacular ocean and Great Lakes resources in the United States, including shipwrecks like the USS Monitor. In early 1944, the Kriegsmarine dispatched U-852 on a top-secret mission to disrupt the Allies' Far East war effort by attacking sea lanes in the Indian Ocean. Some of the bodies were wearing civilian clothes, carrying wallets with United States currency and identification cards. However, once again, the crew on Freden panicked and took to the lifeboats. 14 Mar 1944. The U.S. Navy requisitioned the vessel, originally named the Fairmont, in February 1918. On 30 November 1945, Eck, Hoffmann and Weisspfennig were executed by naval firing squad.[6]. They confirmed the pressure hull had been breached and that the bodies of many of the 55 deceased German submariners were still on board the stricken vessel. This year, Scuba Diver Life and NOAA are partnering to profile 12 different ships in the Graveyard of the Atlantic. In January, U-352 transferred from Kiel to Bergen, and set out for its first patrol on January 20. [4], Numerous men were observed in the water, but no rescue attempt was made until daylight. However, before reaching land the U-boat came under attack from six RAF bombers from 621 Squadron. To view additional site plans click here. Eck and two of his crew were tried and executed after the . The Peleus Affair. The March 1944 sinking of the merchant ship Peleus by U-852 remains highly controversial as the U-Boat skipper turned his guns on survivors in the water. Early in the day on April 13, USS Roper set out from Norfolk, Virginia, heading south to Cape Hatteras for antisubmarine patrol. The hearing was known as the Peleus Trial. This year, Scuba Diver Life and NOAA are partnering to profile 12 different ships in the Graveyard of the Atlantic. The boat had a complement of fifty-five.[3]. Eck was to be the only U-boat commander found guilty of war crimes and executed after he ordered the machine gunning of survivors from the Greek ship Peleus. However, U-352 would not be reaching U.S. waters with the rest of Group Schlei. Sea life at the site of U-352 is prolific and typical of a sub-tropical marine ecosystem. German submarine U-85 was a Type VIIB U-boat of Nazi Germany's Kriegsmarine during World War II. 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. Joined later by the destroyer Ericsson (DD440), the American task force detected, attacked, and destroyed the U-853. Together, these vessels represent the long battle for naval supremacy during World War II and the attempts by the Allies and the Third Reich to protect and/or disrupt their enemys Atlantic commerce and supply lines. Group Schlei was to return to France and begin preparing for deployment to U.S. waters. Go to: Forum List Message List New Topic Search Log In Print View Re: U-852`s wreck Between their arrival in US territorial waters on December 27, 1941, and February 6th, 1942, the drumbeaters sank 25 ships. The U-853, which had earlier in the war fought off an attack from two British Swordfish torpedo bombers and had recently sunk the American patrol craft the PE-56, was now lurking in Rhode Island Sound. The vessels were joint players in one of the final acts of the Battle of the North Atlantic during World War II. 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. Launched on 10 April 1941, she was commissioned on 7 June and assigned to the 3rd U-boat Flotilla under the command of Oberleutnant zur See Eberhard Greger. Another man, the sub's machinist mate, had his leg severed and died later that night aboard Icarus. [3] When submerged, the boat could operate for 121 nautical miles (224km; 139mi) at 2 knots (3.7km/h; 2.3mph); when surfaced, she could travel 12,750 nautical miles (23,610km; 14,670mi) at 10 knots (19km/h; 12mph). 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. U-654 was able to sink one vessel in this convoy, while Greger fired at least three torpedoes with no hits. During a test dive, however, he discovered that U-85 was not able to dive effectively. The submarine was equipped with four torpedo tubes in the bow and two in the stern. Eight of the twelve boats were redirected to the Faroes Islands in Iceland and Scotland. Download image (jpg, 270 KB). 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