Wolfpack Hecht
Hecht(English:"Pike") was the name of two"wolfpacks"ofGermanU-boatsthat operated duringWorld War II.
First wolfpack "Hecht'
[edit]The first wolfpack code-namedHecht,comprising three U-boats, operated east of Iceland from 27 January to 4 February 1942.[1] During this period one Allied convoy passed throughHecht'spatrol area,Arctic convoyPQ 9/10,comprising ten merchant ships bound for the Soviet Union. It departedReykjavíkon 1 February and was undetected, arriving without incident atMurmanskon 10 February.[2]After thisHechtwas disbanded, withU-352andU-455continuing to the North Atlantic, whileU-435remained on station for four more days before heading north to join patrol groupUmbauin theBarents Sea.
U-boats, commanders and dates
[edit]Second wolfpack "Hecht'
[edit]The second operated in theNorth Atlanticfrom 8 May to 18 June 1942. During this periodHechtsuccessfully attacked three west-bound convoys, and sank 14 ships for a total of 62,709gross register tons(GRT).[3] After forming in the Atlantic on 8 May theHechtboats headed west, sighting slowconvoy ON 92south ofIceland.They attacked over the next three days and sank seven ships without loss.[4][5]
On 20 MayHechtboats sighted slow convoy ON 94 east of theGrand Banks,but lost it in fog.[6]
On 31 May ON 96 was sighted south ofCape Farewell,but this was also lost in worsening weather.[7]
On 8 June convoy ON 100 was sighted five days out from the UK; an attack developed which sank five ships and an escort vessel over four days, again without loss.[8][9]
On 12 June convoy ON 102 was sighted, but attacks over three days and nights brought little success; one ship was sunk, but two U-boats were damaged so severely they had to return to base.[10]
At this pointBdUbrought Hecht’s patrol to an end.
U-boats, commanders and dates
[edit]- U-404,Otto von Bülow,8–11 May
- U-94,Otto Ites,8 May–16 June
- U-124,Johann Mohr,8 May–18 June
- U-406,Horst Dieterichs, 8 May–18 June
- U-569,Hans-Peter Hinsch, 8 May–18 June
- U-590,Heinrich Müller-Edzards, 8 May–18 June
- U-578,Ernst-August Rehwinkel, 9–11 May
- U-96,Hans-Jürgen Hellriegel,11 May–18 June
- U-116,Werner von Schmidt, 26–29 May
Ships hit by this wolfpack
[edit]From convoy ONS 92
[edit]Empire Dell&Llanover
[edit]Around 02:00 on 12 May 1942,U-124fired threetorpedoesand hit the 7,065-ton BritishCAM shipEmpire Delland the 4,959-ton BritishcollierLlanover.TheMaster,38 crew and sevenRoyal Air Forcepersonnel fromEmpire Dellwere rescued before she sank. Two crew members were lost.[11]The badly damagedLlanoverwas scuttled byHMCSArvida.Her crew of 46; Master, 39 men, and 6 gunners were rescued.
Cocle
[edit]At 03:40 on 12 May the 5,630-ton Panamanian merchant shipCoclewas torpedoed and sunk byU-94.Only 38 survivors from her crew of 42 were picked up by the British rescue shipBury.[12]
Cristales&Mount Parnes
[edit]At 03:55 on 12 MayU-124attacked again, firing two torpedoes and hitting the 5,389-ton British merchant shipCristalesand the 4,371-ton Greek merchant shipMount Parnes.The crew ofCristalesabandoned ship, and all 65, plus 7 gunners and 10 passengers were rescued, while their ship was later sunk by gunfire byHMCSShediac.[13]After her 33 crew abandoned ship,Mount Parneswas alsoscuttledby an escort vessel.[14]
Batna
[edit]At 03:51 on 13 May, the 4,399-ton British collierBatnawas torpedoed and sunk byU-94.One crew member was lost while the master, 34 crewmen and six gunners were picked up by the British rescue shipBury.[15]
Tolken
[edit]At 06:18 on 13 May, the 4,471-ton Swedish merchant shipTolkenwas hit by a single torpedo fromU-94.The U-boat was driven off by the convoy escorts, but returned at 09:30. Approaching the damaged ship on the surface, the U-boat was shot by the ship's machine guns. At 10:20 the U-boat attacked again with torpedoes. The first failed to explode, but the second five minutes later hit and sank the ship. There were no losses amongst the ship's crew of 34, and all were picked up by the British rescue shipBury.[16]
Independent passage
[edit]Maria da Gloria
[edit]At 22:10 on 5 JuneU-94shelled an unmarked sailing ship. The ship stopped after being hit by two rounds, the U-boat ceased fire, and the crew abandoned ship. Then at 22:50 theschoonerwas sunk by U-boat's gunfire. She turned out to be the 320-tonneutralPortuguese fishing boatMaria da Gloria,and only 8 from her crew of 44 survived.[17]
From convoy ONS 100
[edit]FFLMimosa
[edit]At 04:10 on 9 June, theFree French NavyFlower-classcorvetteMimosa(J6254) was hit by one of two torpedoes fired byU-124,and sank immediately after the boilers exploded. The commander, 58 French sailors and 6 British sailors, were lost. The four survivors were picked up byHMCSAssiniboine.[18]
Empire Clough&Ramsay
[edit]At 03:40 hours on 10 June,U-94fired three torpedoes at a group of three ships from the convoy, and hit and sank two British merchant ships; the 6,147-tonEmpire Clough,[19]and the 4,855-tonRamsay.[20]
Pontypridd
[edit]At 14:46 on 11 June, the 4,458-ton British merchant shipPontypriddwas hit by two torpedoes fired byU-569,seriously damaging her. At 16:06,U-94fired thecoup de grâceat the straggling ship, which sank an hour later. Two crew members were lost, and the master was taken prisoner byU-569,and was confined to theMilag NordPOW camp,while 42 crewmen and three gunners were later picked up byHMCSChambly.[21]
Dartford
[edit]At 06:12 on 12 June the 4,093-ton British merchant shipDartfordwas torpedoed and sunk byU-124.[22]
From convoy ONS 102
[edit]Seattle Spirit
[edit]At about 06.20 on 18 June,U-124fired two spreads of two torpedoes at three ships of Convoy ONS 102, en route fromMurmansktoNew York.One torpedo struck the 5,627-ton American merchant shipSeattle Spirit,causing flooding and a boiler explosion which killed one officer and two men below. The remaining 9 officers, 28 men, 11armed guards(the ship was armed with a 4-inch (100 mm) gun, four.50 caliber and four.30 caliber machine guns) and 7 passengers abandoned ship in lifeboats. They were picked up by the corvetteHMCSAgassiz,andSeattle Spiritwas shelled and sunk at 20:30 byAgassizafter it was determined she could not be salvaged.[23]
References
[edit]- ^Helgason, Guðmundur."Wolfpack Hecht".uboat.net.Retrieved28 January2010.
- ^Ruegg, Hague pp.25-26
- ^Helgason, Guðmundur."Wolfpack Hecht".German U-boats of WWII - uboat.net.Retrieved28 January2010.
- ^Blair p.599
- ^Edwards pp.62-68
- ^Edwards p.68
- ^Edwards p.69
- ^Blair p.600
- ^Edwards pp.69-72
- ^Edwards p.72
- ^Helgason, Guðmundur."Empire Dell (Catapult armed merchant)".German U-boats of WWII - uboat.net.Retrieved28 January2010.
- ^Helgason, Guðmundur."Cocle (Steam merchant)".German U-boats of WWII - uboat.net.Retrieved28 January2010.
- ^Helgason, Guðmundur."Cristales (Steam merchant)".German U-boats of WWII - uboat.net.Retrieved28 January2010.
- ^Helgason, Guðmundur."Mount Parnes (Steam merchant)".German U-boats of WWII - uboat.net.Retrieved28 January2010.
- ^Helgason, Guðmundur."Batna (Steam merchant)".German U-boats of WWII - uboat.net.Retrieved28 January2010.
- ^Helgason, Guðmundur."Tolken (Steam merchant)".German U-boats of WWII - uboat.net.Retrieved28 January2010.
- ^Helgason, Guðmundur."Maria da Gloria (Sailing ship)".German U-boats of WWII - uboat.net.Retrieved28 January2010.
- ^Helgason, Guðmundur."FFL Mimosa (J 6254) (Corvette)".German U-boats of WWII - uboat.net.Retrieved28 January2010.
- ^Helgason, Guðmundur."Empire Clough (Steam merchant)".German U-boats of WWII - uboat.net.Retrieved28 January2010.
- ^Helgason, Guðmundur."Ramsay (Steam merchant)".German U-boats of WWII - uboat.net.Retrieved28 January2010.
- ^Helgason, Guðmundur."Pontypridd (Steam merchant)".German U-boats of WWII - uboat.net.Retrieved28 January2010.
- ^Helgason, Guðmundur."Dartford (Steam merchant)".German U-boats of WWII - uboat.net.Retrieved28 January2010.
- ^Helgason, Guðmundur."Seattle Spirit (Steam merchant)".German U-boats of WWII - uboat.net.Retrieved28 January2010.
Bibliography
[edit]- Blair, Clay(1996).Hitler's U-Boat War: The Hunters 1939-1942.Cassell.ISBN0-304-35260-8.
- Edwards, Bernard (1996)Donitz and the Wolf PacksISBN1-86019-927-5
- Ruegg, Bob; Hague, Arnold (1992).Convoys to Russia 1941–1945.Kendal, UK: World Ship Society.ISBN0-905617-66-5.