Torpedo Alley

Torpedo Alley
Part ofWorld War II,Battle of the Atlantic
Date 1942–1945 Location offNorth Carolina,Mid Atlantic Ocean Result German victory
Belligerents
United States United Kingdom	Nazi Germany
Commanders and leaders
Harold Rainsford Stark Ernest King Royal Ingersoll	Karl Dönitz Robert-Richard Zapp Rolf Mützelburg
Casualties and losses
~5,000 killed 397 ships sunk	100 killed 40 captured 3 submarines sunk

TheTorpedo Alley,orTorpedo Junction,offNorth Carolina,is one of thegraveyards of the Atlantic Ocean,named for the high number of attacks onAlliedshipping byGermanU-boatsinWorld War II.Almost 400 ships were sunk, mostly during theSecond Happy Timein 1942, and over 5,000 people were killed, many of whom wereciviliansandmerchant sailors.Torpedo Alley encompassed the area surrounding theOuter Banks,including Cape Lookout and Cape Hatteras.

Sunken warships

Allied vessels

SSEmpire Gem

TheEmpire Gemwas a recently built 10,600-ton Britishtanker,armed with one 4-inch (100 mm) gun, one 12-pounderanti-aircraft gunand sixmachine guns.While offDiamond Shoalson the night of January 23, 1942,U-66underRobert-Richard Zappdetected the unescortedEmpire Gemand the unarmed American merchantmanSSVenore.A few hours later, at about 2:40 am on January 24,U-66attacked by firing a spread of torpedoes at theEmpire Gem.One of them struck the tanker at the tanks on the starboard side and the ship immediately began to burn and sink. The U-boat then fired additional torpedoes; one struck theVenore,which also sank. Both vessels sent out anSOSand shortly after an American motor lifeboat fromOcracoke Coast Guard Stationarrived to rescue survivors. Fifty-five men out of fifty-seven were killed on theEmpire GemincludingRoyal Navygunners and another seventeen men were killed on theVenore.Twenty-three survivors from both ships were later rescued by American forces.

SSSan Delfino

TheSan Delfinowas an 8,702-ton armed British tanker. She was attacked east of Cape Hatteras at position35°35′N75°06′Won April 10, 1942 byU-203underCaptain LieutenantRolf Mützelburg.At 3:47 amSan Delfinowas hit by a torpedo but it had no effect. A second spread missed their target but a final shot hit the ship at 5:08 am, sinking the vessel, killing twenty-eight men and sending another twenty-two into the water. The action occurred early in the morning, and the gunners aboard had not been able to see a target. It took seven torpedoes altogether to destroy the ship. The Master and twenty-one crew members were rescued later on by the naval trawlerHMTNorwich Cityand landed atMorehead City.

SSEmpire Thrush

On April 14 the armed BritishsteamerEmpire Thrushwas attacked byU-203,8 nautical miles (15 km) N of Diamond Shoals. At 3:15 pm a single torpedo hit the ship and it slowly sank. The master, all forty-seven crewmen, and seven Royal Navy gunners escaped without harm. TheUnited States NavyQ-shipUSSAsterionwitnessed the attack on the horizon but was unable to engage. Arriving two hours later, the Americans rescued the British and took them toNorfolk, Virginia.

HMTBedfordshire

A plaque on Ocracoke Island commemorating those killed on HMTBedfordshire.

Bedfordshirewas a 443-ton Britishtrawler.On May 10, theBedfordshireandHMTLowmanwere deployed from their base at Morehead City toOcracoke Islandto search for a U-boat spotted in the area. When the vessels arrived they were discovered by Captain LieutenantGunther KrechofU-558who proceeded to shadow the vessels until later that night. Krech attacked after assuming he had been detected by the British ships - firing a spread of torpedoes at theLowmanbut they all missed. The British then maneuvered and began droppingdepth chargesbut these failed to destroy their target. At 5:40 in the morning on May 11, the U-boat fired a single torpedo at theBedfordshirewhich missed but a second hit the trawler and it quickly sank with all thirty-seven hands. Two bodies were eventually recovered by the Americans who buried the dead on Ocracoke, creating the British Cemetery there.

HMTKingston Ceylonite

The next warship sunk was theKingston Ceylonite,another Britishnaval trawlerserving in American waters off North Carolina. On June 15, theKingston Ceylonitewas sailing offVirginia Beachin convoy KN-109 when she unknowingly entered asea minefield laid byU-701four days earlier. The British trawler struck one mine at position36°52′N75°51′Wand sank. Thirty-three men went down with the ship and only eighteen survived. Two other tankers and thedestroyerUSSBainbridgealso hit mines that night but were saved from sinking. Some of the dead washed up on Ocracoke Island and were interred with the men of HMTBedfordshire.

USSYP-389

The small 170-ton American trawlerYP-389was destroyed during an action withU-701in the early morning on June 19. German CaptainHorst Degendecided to surface the submarine and engage with hisdeck gunsin order to save torpedoes. Armor-piercing rounds splashed all around the American ship for an hour and a half before she sank. Because of a faultyfiring pinin the trawler's 3-inch (76 mm)dual purpose gun,only.30-06 Springfieldrifles,.30 cal machine guns and depth charges could be used to defend the ship. Of a 25-man complement, six American seamen were killed in battle and the eighteen remaining went adrift. The Germans suffered no casualties thoughU-701sustained slight damage.

SSWilliam Rockefeller

William Rockefellerwas a one-gun American tanker of 14,054 tons, sunk 16 nautical miles (30 km) east-northeast of Diamond Shoals on June 28, 1942. At 6:16 pm, Horst Degen'sU-701released a torpedo which hit theWilliam Rockefeller's pump room on portside amidships while she was steaming on a non-evasive course at 9.2 knots. The torpedo tore a twenty-foot hole in the ship and oil sprayed everywhere, causing a fire. The pump room flooded along with one of the ship's tanks and the cargo aboard caught on fire. Nine officers, thirty-five crewmen and sixarmed guardsevacuated the ship and were picked up twenty minutes later byUSSCG-470which then depth charged the area inconclusively.U-701surfaced the following morning around 5:20 am and delivered acoup de grâcewhich sank the American ship at position35°11′N75°07′Wwithout loss of life.

German U-boats

U-85

The funeral for twenty-nine Germans fromU-85atHampton National Cemetery.

The first of three German U-boats sunk during the battle for Torpedo Alley wasU-85,sunk at midnight on April 13, 1942. While operating within sight ofBodie Island Lighthouse,thedestroyerUSSRoperdetected the surfacedU-85on radar at a range of 2,700 yards. As the German submarine attempted to head south, theRoperclosed to 700 yards.U-85fired a torpedo from her stern and began firing with her deck gun, but the American destroyer evaded all of the shots.U-85then turned to starboard and closed to within 300 yards of theRoper,which opened fire with a 3-inch (76 mm) gun and machine guns. The destroyer hit the U-boat once before she submerged, and then dropped 11 depth charges, sinking the sub. All 46 German crew members were killed; theRoperrecovered 29 of their bodies. Some of the dead were wearing civilian clothing and had wallets with U.S. currency and identification cards, suggesting that the submarine had been involved in landing German agents on the mainland. A nighttime military funeral was held for the dead Germans atHampton,Virginia.The hatch ofU-85is now on display atCape Hatteras Lighthouseand theEnigma machineresides at theGraveyard of the Atlantic MuseuminHatteras.

U-352

USCGCIcarusdelivering prisoners fromU-352toCharleston Navy Yard.

U-352,under Captain LieutenantHellmut Rathke,was destroyed on May 9, 1942, by theUnited States Coast Guard.At position34°21′N76°35′W,offCape Lookout,theUSCGCIcaruspicked up a sonar contact just before a torpedo exploded nearby.LieutenantMaurice D. Jesterknew right away that they were under attack by a submarine and he suspected where the Germans would fire their next torpedo from. The Americans maneuvered and dropped five depth charges, and when sonar detected the U-boat again,Icarusmoved accordingly and dropped two more charges, forcing the Germans to surface. Then a short surface action occurred asIcarusopened fire with machine guns and prepared to ram the enemyU-boat.Before the range closed, the crew ofU-352evacuated their ship and the Americans ceased fire after dropping one last depth charge as the submarine sank. TheIcarusleft the scene but was ordered to return and pick up the German submariners still in the water.Fifteen Germans were killed and 33 survivors were taken toCharleston,South Carolina,the following day. Jester received aNavy Crossfor his victory over the Germans.The remains of theU352lie in 115' of water, 26 miles South of Beaufort inlet, NC.

U-701

German survivors fromU-701going ashore atNaval Station Norfolkon June 9, 1942 after being rescued by a US Coast Guard seaplane.

The destruction ofU-701happened on July 7, 1942, near Cape Hatteras, and was the last sinking of a German submarine in Torpedo Alley. AmericanLockheed Hudsonaircraft from theUnited States Army396th Bombardment Squadronattacked the surfacedU-701with depth charges. The attack was successful and the U-boat sank with 29 hands. Seventeen survivors then went adrift in lifeboats for two days; when they were rescued by American forces, only seven remained. The submarine rests in 110' feet of water near Cape Hatteras, NC.

German casualties in Torpedo Alley totaled 100 dead and forty captured.

See also

• List of shipwrecks of North Carolina

External links

• WWII German UBoats