First U-Boat Flotilla

Lawrence Paterson

• Publisher: Pen & Sword Military
• Year: 2001
• ISBN:
  9781473814264
• Topic: History
• Subtopic: World War II
• Index: History

Lawrence Paterson is an author and historian.

CONTENTS

	Acknowledgements
	Foreword
	Glossary
	Introduction
Chapter 1.	Pre-War Formation 1935 to 1939
Chapter 2.	The ‘Weddigen’ Flotilla
Chapter 3.	Combat, 1 September to 31 December 1939
Chapter 4.	First Blood – Victory and Loss, 1 January 1940 to 30 April 1940
Chapter 5.	First Taste of the Atlantic, 1 May 1940 to 15 June 1941
Chapter 6.	Transfer, 16 June 1941 to 31 December 1941
Chapter 7.	The Battle of the Atlantic, 1 January 1942 to 31 December 1942
Chapter 8.	Crescendo, 1 January 1943 to 31 March 1943
Chapter 9.	The Fight Against Allied Air Power, 1 April 1943 to 31 December 1943
Chapter 10.	Attrition, 1 January 1944 to 30 June 1944
Chapter 11.	Defeat and Evacuation, 1 July 1944 to 31 August 1944
Chapter 12.	The Flotilla Dissolved, 1 September 1944 to 21 September 1944
Appendix One:	U-boat Types of the 1st U-Flotilla
Appendix Two:	German Submarine Development 1922–1935
Appendix Three:	Strength of the 1st U-Flotilla 1939–1944
	Sources
	Index

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

Many people have helped with the writing of this book. I would particularly like to thank Sarah Burbridge; Audrey and Shane Paterson; Jon Gawne; Urbain Ureel; Hans Milkert (President of Cuxhaven Kameradschaft); Yannick Creach, Hannelore and Gesa Suhren; Frank James and Angus MacLean Thuermer for their help with information and research. Ralf Bublitz – one of life’s good guys – helped enormously with German translations, as did Robert Strauss – mentor, agent and squirrel hunter. Neville Burbridge and Jan Dekeijser assisted me a great deal by proof reading the first draft and kicking me when I needed it, while Elizabeth Burbidge kindly let me invade her front room while writing the first draft. From the Royal Navy Submarine Museum at Gosport, Maggie Bidmead (Head of Archives) and Debbie Corner (Head of Photographic Department) were extremely helpful with both reference material and photographs. The Brest Naval Library and Altenbruch’s U-Boot Archiv also provided many excellent reference sources. I would also like to thank Jak Mallmann Showell, Eberhard Hoffman, Jürgen Weber (München U-Boot Kameradschaft) and Günther Hartmann (Verband Deutscher U-Bootfahrer). Egbert Kaibert, Peter Wimmer, Paul Darcy and Nicolo Thierry all provided valuable photographs for inclusion within this book, and Ranieri Meloni created the wonderful illustrations of the three U-boat types used by 1st U-Flotilla. I would also like to thank my editor, Tom Hartman, and everybody at Pen & Sword. Of course very special thanks go to the U-boat veterans who took the time to answer queries of mine, in particular: Georg Seitz (U604 & U873); Erich Topp (1757, U552 & U2513); Günther Poser (U59 & U202); Claus-Peter Carlsen (U251 & U732); Peter Wimmer (U556) and Paul Helmchen (U441 & U1407).

Photographic Acknowledgements:

Ranieri Meloni, Plate 1; National Archives and Records Administration, Plates 2, 23, 32, 38; Royal Navy Submarine Museum, 12, 15, 19, 20, 21, 26, 30, 36; Author’s Collection 3, 5, 6, 7, 9, 11, 16, 24, 25, 27, 29, 33, 34, 35; Egbert Kaibert (Peter Wimmer), 13; Siftung Traditionsarchiv Unterseeboote, 4, 17; Nicolo Thierry, 10, 14, 18, 28, 37; Paul Darcy, 22.

FOREWORD

Military units are renowned for their strictly regimented administration. Each decision, movement or event receives its official documentation filed within the paper archives for that particular formation. In times of conflict another administrative volume is added to the list – the War Diary. Drawn largely from the War Diary (Kriegstagebuch) of the Second World War’s 1st U-boat Flotilla, this book seeks to chart the momentous events between 1935 and 1944, the years of formation and dissolution. The course of the book closely follows the entries recorded by various flotilla commanders over this period, beginning in August 1939 as war threatened Europe. The flotilla War Diary was a formal record of administrative matters and combat results, compiled by the flotilla commander. While his was not necessarily the only hand to record notations within its pages, the words belonged to him and he was entirely responsible for the diary’s contents.

A Flotilla by definition is a grouping of vessels of an undetermined size. Germany’s U-boats were constantly shuffling between flotillas, the unit providing an administrative, not tactical, control over U-boats and their operation. Tactics and operational jurisdiction was held firmly in the hands of BdU. This is not, however, a history of the Battle of the Atlantic or U-boats in general; those stories are told in numerous excellent and authoritative published works. The events of the war at sea provide a backdrop against which the drama of Germany’s premier submarine unit was played out. The U-boats from this unit began their war laying mines along Britain’s eastern seaboard and ended it fighting desperate and hopeless running battles against Allied naval forces intent on their destruction. The roller-coaster fortunes of Karl Dönitz’s ‘Grey Wolves’ as a whole are mirrored in the events that occupy the following pages. By necessity there is a brief history of the rebuilding of Germany’s U-boat arm following the humiliation of defeat in 1918. This has relevance to Karl Dönitz’s entry into the story and the birth of the ‘Weddigen’ Flotilla – embryo of 1st U-boat Flotilla.

By its very essence a War Diary records the operational events affecting the unit concerned. Within the pages of 1st U-Flotilla’s Diary are multiple references to U-boats occupying the same port. Apart from early stages of the war or where particularly relevant I have omitted these U-boats – their flotillas have their own stories to tell. Long periods of time were spent with no recorded duties; therefore this is not a literal day-by-day translation of the Diary in its entirety. Several patrols undertaken produced no result and achieved nothing. They have sometimes also been omitted. Again, there are available excellent reference sources for sailing dates and patrol areas and I have not replicated them here. Sinking reports are included wherever they are mentioned in the War Diary. The dates of the presumed or known loss of a U-boat will be mentioned and, as far as possible, the story of its demise told retrospectively. Sadly there are many of them.

Many words remain in their original German accompanied by translations, the non-English word italicized for clarity. Ranks I have also sometimes retained in full. I hope that the length and apparent complexity of many of these German words and titles will not deter non-German-speaking readers. Of all the words encountered within the following pages there is one in particular that repeats all too often – Vermisst, which in English means ‘missing’.

GLOSSARY

Rank table

German	(medical)	British/American
Grossadmiral		Admiral of the Fleet/ Fleet Admiral
Admiral		Admiral
Vizeadmiral	(Admiralstabsarzt)	Vice-Admiral
Konteradmiral (KA)	(Admiralarzt)	Rear Admiral
Kommodore		Commodore
Kapitän zur See (KaptzS)	(Flottenarzt)	Captain
Fregattenkapitän (FK)	(Geschwarderarzt)	Commander
Korvettenkapitän KK)	(Marineoberstabsarzt)	Commander
Kapitänleutnant (Kptl)	(Marinestabsarzt)	Lt Commander
Oberleutnant zur See (ObltzS)	(Marineoberassistenzarzt)	Lieutenant
Leutnant zur See (LtzS)	(Marineassistenzarzt)	Sub Lieutenant/ Lieutenant (jg)
Fähnrich		Midshipman
Oberbootman		Chief Petty Officer
Obermaat		Petty Officer
Obermatrose		Leading Seaman
Vollmatrose		Able Seaman
Leichtmatrose		Ordinary Seaman

ASDIC – term applied to the sonar equipment used for locating submarines. A powerful and effective weapon, it emitted a distinct ‘ping’ when locating the target. The word ASDIC is apparently an acronym for ‘Anti-Submarine Detection Committee’, the organization that began research into this device in 1917, although some historians dispute this.

BdU – (German) Befehlshaber der Unterseeboote^ Commander of all U-boats.

BdU.Ops – (German) Befehlshaber der Unterseeboote Operationen, Commander (Operations) of all U-Boats.

BETASOM – (Italian) Italian submarine command for operations in the Atlantic. Established in Bordeaux during 1940...