German submarine ''U-869'' was a
Type IXC/40 U-boat
U-boats were naval submarines operated by Germany, particularly in the First and Second World Wars. Although at times they were efficient fleet weapons against enemy naval warships, they were most effectively used in an economic warfare role ...
of the German Navy (''
Kriegsmarine
The (, ) was the navy of Germany from 1935 to 1945. It superseded the Imperial German Navy of the German Empire (1871–1918) and the inter-war (1919–1935) of the Weimar Republic. The was one of three official branches, along with the a ...
'') during
World War II
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
, her keel was
laid down
Laying the keel or laying down is the formal recognition of the start of a ship's construction. It is often marked with a ceremony attended by dignitaries from the shipbuilding company and the ultimate owners of the ship.
Keel laying is one o ...
5 April 1943 by
Deutsche Schiff- und Maschinenbau
Deutsche Schiff- und Maschinenbau Aktiengesellschaft (abbreviated Deschimag) was a cooperation of eight German shipyards in the period 1926 to 1945. The leading company was the shipyard AG Weser in Bremen.
History
The Deschimag was founded in 19 ...
AG Weser
Aktien-Gesellschaft „Weser" (abbreviated A.G. „Weser”) was one of the major German shipbuilding companies, located at the Weser River in Bremen. Founded in 1872 it was finally closed in 1983. All together, A.G. „Weser" built about 1,400 ...
of
Bremen
Bremen (Low German also: ''Breem'' or ''Bräm''), officially the City Municipality of Bremen (german: Stadtgemeinde Bremen, ), is the capital of the German state Free Hanseatic City of Bremen (''Freie Hansestadt Bremen''), a two-city-state consis ...
. It was
commissioned on 26 January 1944 with ''
Kapitänleutnant
''Kapitänleutnant'', short: KptLt/in lists: KL, ( en, captain lieutenant) is an officer grade of the captains' military hierarchy group () of the German Bundeswehr. The rank is rated OF-2 in NATO, and equivalent to Hauptmann in the Heer an ...
'' Hellmut Neuerburg in command. Neuerburg went down with his boat. The wreck of ''U-869'' was discovered off the coast of
New Jersey
New Jersey is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern regions of the United States. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York; on the east, southeast, and south by the Atlantic Ocean; on the west by the Delaware ...
in 1991.
Design
German Type IXC/40 submarines were slightly larger than the original
Type IXCs. ''U-869'' had a displacement of when at the surface and while submerged. The U-boat had a total length of , a
pressure hull
A submarine hull has two major components, the ''light hull'' and the ''pressure hull''. The light hull (''casing'' in British usage) of a submarine is the outer non-watertight hull which provides a hydrodynamically efficient shape. The pressure ...
length of , a
beam
Beam may refer to:
Streams of particles or energy
*Light beam, or beam of light, a directional projection of light energy
**Laser beam
*Particle beam, a stream of charged or neutral particles
**Charged particle beam, a spatially localized grou ...
of , a height of , and a
draught of . The submarine was powered by two
MAN
A man is an adult male human. Prior to adulthood, a male human is referred to as a boy (a male child or adolescent). Like most other male mammals, a man's genome usually inherits an X chromosome from the mother and a Y chromo ...
M 9 V 40/46
supercharged
In an internal combustion engine, a supercharger compresses the intake gas, forcing more air into the engine in order to produce more power for a given displacement.
The current categorisation is that a supercharger is a form of forced induct ...
four-stroke, nine-cylinder
diesel engine
The diesel engine, named after Rudolf Diesel, is an internal combustion engine in which ignition of the fuel is caused by the elevated temperature of the air in the cylinder due to mechanical compression; thus, the diesel engine is a so-call ...
s producing a total of for use while surfaced, two
Siemens-Schuckert
Siemens-Schuckert (or Siemens-Schuckertwerke) was a German electrical engineering company headquartered in Berlin, Erlangen and Nuremberg that was incorporated into the Siemens AG in 1966.
Siemens Schuckert was founded in 1903 when Siemens & Ha ...
2 GU 345/34
double-acting electric motors producing a total of for use while submerged. She had two shafts and two
propeller
A propeller (colloquially often called a screw if on a ship or an airscrew if on an aircraft) is a device with a rotating hub and radiating blades that are set at a pitch to form a helical spiral which, when rotated, exerts linear thrust upon ...
s. The boat was capable of operating at depths of up to .
The submarine had a maximum surface speed of and a maximum submerged speed of . When submerged, the boat could operate for at ; when surfaced, she could travel at . ''U-869'' was fitted with six
torpedo tube
A torpedo tube is a cylindrical device for launching torpedoes.
There are two main types of torpedo tube: underwater tubes fitted to submarines and some surface ships, and deck-mounted units (also referred to as torpedo launchers) installed aboa ...
s (four fitted at the bow and two at the stern), 22
torpedo
A modern torpedo is an underwater ranged weapon launched above or below the water surface, self-propelled towards a target, and with an explosive warhead designed to detonate either on contact with or in proximity to the target. Historically, su ...
es, one
SK C/32 naval gun, 180 rounds, and a
Flak M42 as well as two twin
C/30 anti-aircraft guns. The boat had a
complement
A complement is something that completes something else.
Complement may refer specifically to:
The arts
* Complement (music), an interval that, when added to another, spans an octave
** Aggregate complementation, the separation of pitch-clas ...
of 48.
Service history
''U-869'' conducted one
World War II
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
war patrol without success. It suffered no casualties to her crew until it was lost on 11 February 1945, with all but one of 56 crew members dead. The surviving crew member, Herbert Guschewski, was not on board, as he became ill just before the patrol.
Robert Kurson
Robert A. Kurson (born April 18, 1963) is an American author, best known for his 2004 bestselling book, '' Shadow Divers'', the true story of two Americans who discover a World War II German U-boat sunk 60 miles off the coast of New Jersey.
Care ...
chronicled the story of ''U-869''s finding in the book ''
Shadow Divers
''Shadow Divers: The True Adventure of Two Americans Who Risked Everything to Solve One of the Last Mysteries of World War II'' is a 2004 non-fiction book by Robert Kurson recounting of the discovery of a World War II German U-boat off the coast ...
'' (2004).
Engagement near Morocco
On 28 February 1945, the American
destroyer escort
Destroyer escort (DE) was the United States Navy mid-20th-century classification for a warship designed with the endurance necessary to escort mid-ocean convoys of merchant marine ships.
Development of the destroyer escort was promoted by th ...
and the French
submarine chaser ''L'Indiscret'' conducted a
depth charge
A depth charge is an anti-submarine warfare (ASW) weapon. It is intended to destroy a submarine by being dropped into the water nearby and detonating, subjecting the target to a powerful and destructive Shock factor, hydraulic shock. Most depth ...
attack on a submerged contact in the Atlantic, near
Rabat
Rabat (, also , ; ar, الرِّبَاط, er-Ribât; ber, ⵕⵕⴱⴰⵟ, ṛṛbaṭ) is the capital city of Morocco and the country's seventh largest city with an urban population of approximately 580,000 (2014) and a metropolitan populati ...
, and reported a kill, although little visible evidence was presented to confirm the kill. Based on the information provided,
U.S. Naval Intelligence rated the attacks "G—No Damage". ''U-869'' had been previously ordered by
Karl Dönitz
Karl Dönitz (sometimes spelled Doenitz; ; 16 September 1891 24 December 1980) was a German admiral who briefly succeeded Adolf Hitler as head of state in May 1945, holding the position until the dissolution of the Flensburg Government follo ...
to move her area of operations from the North American coast to the
Gibraltar
)
, anthem = " God Save the King"
, song = " Gibraltar Anthem"
, image_map = Gibraltar location in Europe.svg
, map_alt = Location of Gibraltar in Europe
, map_caption = United Kingdom shown in pale green
, mapsize =
, image_map2 = Gib ...
area. Postwar investigators upgraded the rating from "G—No Damage" to "B—Probably Sunk", leading to an erroneous historical record that ''U-869'' was sunk near
Gibraltar
)
, anthem = " God Save the King"
, song = " Gibraltar Anthem"
, image_map = Gibraltar location in Europe.svg
, map_alt = Location of Gibraltar in Europe
, map_caption = United Kingdom shown in pale green
, mapsize =
, image_map2 = Gib ...
. For many years this attack was assumed to have been her end.
Discovery off U.S. coast
In 1991,
Bill Nagle, a former wreck diver and the captain of ''
Seeker'', learned about a wreck off New Jersey and decided to mount a diving expedition to the site. On 2 September 1991, an unidentified U-boat wreck was discovered 73 meters (240 feet) deep (a hazardous depth for standard
scuba diving
Scuba diving is a mode of underwater diving whereby divers use breathing equipment that is completely independent of a surface air supply. The name "scuba", an acronym for "Self-Contained Underwater Breathing Apparatus", was coined by Chris ...
) off the coast of
New Jersey
New Jersey is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern regions of the United States. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York; on the east, southeast, and south by the Atlantic Ocean; on the west by the Delaware ...
. Nicknamed ''U-Who'', the exact identity of the wreck was a matter of frequent debate, and initially the wreck was thought to be either or . The discoverers of ''U-Who'',
John Chatterton
John Chatterton (born 1951) is an American wreck diver. Together with Richie Kohler, he was one of the co-hosts for the History Channel’s ''Deep Sea Detectives'', for 57 episodes of the series. He is also a consultant to the film and televis ...
,
Richie Kohler
Richie Kohler is an American Technical diving, technical wreck diving, wreck diver and shipwreck historian who has been diving and exploring shipwrecks since 1980. Together with John Chatterton, Kohler was one of the co-hosts of the television se ...
, and
Kevin Brennan, continued to dive the wreck for the next several years. (Three divers,
Steve Feldman,
Chris Rouse and "Chrissy" Rouse, died exploring ''U-869''.) Eventually, the team recovered a knife inscribed with "Horenburg", a crew member's name. However, they learned at the U-boat archives that ''U-869'' was supposedly sent to Africa, so this piece of evidence was initially disregarded. A few years later, they found part of the UZO torpedo aiming device, and a spare parts box from the motor room engraved with serial and other identifying numbers. On 31 August 1997 they concluded that the boat they found was ''U-869''.
The location of the wreck is approximately .
Cause of sinking
The men who found ''U-869'' believed it was a victim of her own torpedo, which may have become a "circle-runner". Torpedoes manufactured later in the war had acoustical seeking capability. It was theorized that the torpedo was initially fired in a turning pattern and when it missed her target, it picked up the sound of the submarine's propeller. At least two other German U-boats supposedly have been lost due to their own torpedoes: in 1944 and in late 1943. Chatterton and Kohler based their theory largely on a lack of evidence to support other causes for sinking. They claimed there was no reported naval activity in the vicinity, thereby ruling out a sinking by attack. Moreover, the damage to the hull was from the outside and thereby ruled out an internal explosion. This problem also affected the US submarine force at least twice, as seen with and .
Gary Gentile
Gary Gentile (born 1946) is an American author and pioneering technical diver.
Diving
Gary Gentile is a wreck diver. It has been suggested that Gary Gentile may be the most experienced wreck diver in the world. He has dived on the wreck of the ...
, a noted wreck diver, researcher, and author, rejects Chatteron and Kohler's theory. He cites attack logs and eyewitness accounts from the crew of two
destroyer escort
Destroyer escort (DE) was the United States Navy mid-20th-century classification for a warship designed with the endurance necessary to escort mid-ocean convoys of merchant marine ships.
Development of the destroyer escort was promoted by th ...
s suggesting that the U-boat was initially damaged with a
hedgehog
A hedgehog is a spiny mammal of the subfamily Erinaceinae, in the eulipotyphlan family Erinaceidae. There are seventeen species of hedgehog in five genera found throughout parts of Europe, Asia, and Africa, and in New Zealand by introducti ...
launched by the and then subsequently damaged with a depth charge by the accompanying .
The
United States Coast Guard
The United States Coast Guard (USCG) is the maritime security, search and rescue, and law enforcement service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the country's eight uniformed services. The service is a maritime, military, mult ...
, in its official evaluation of the evidence, discarded the circle-running torpedo theory and awarded the sinking to the two destroyers. This was confirmed by Marlyn Berkey, who was on a destroyer as part of the Pacific fleet entering
New York Harbor after the war's end; the submarine showed up on sonar, Berkey's destroyer depth charged the sub, it sank as evidenced by oil and debris that floated on the surface; the destroyer's crew was allowed to place a broom upside down atop the mainmast coming into New York, which meant "clean sweep". Contributing to their findings are two damage holes in the wreck of ''U-869'', which are more consistent with the attack reports that cited two explosions than with the circle runner theory which would only explain one hole. The official records state that ''U-869'' was destroyed on 11 February 1945 by two U.S. destroyer escorts, ''Howard D. Crow'' and ''Koiner''.
John Chatterton
John Chatterton (born 1951) is an American wreck diver. Together with Richie Kohler, he was one of the co-hosts for the History Channel’s ''Deep Sea Detectives'', for 57 episodes of the series. He is also a consultant to the film and televis ...
, one of the divers who discovered ''U-869'' in 1991, states in ''
Wreck Diving Magazine'' his belief that the two U.S. destroyer escorts attacked the wreck of ''U-869'' after the U-boat had been struck by her own torpedo.
Lone survivor
Only one crew member survived by virtue of not having been aboard. Second Radio Officer Herbert Guschewski came down with
pneumonia
Pneumonia is an inflammatory condition of the lung primarily affecting the small air sacs known as alveoli. Symptoms typically include some combination of productive or dry cough, chest pain, fever, and difficulty breathing. The severity ...
and
pleurisy
Pleurisy, also known as pleuritis, is inflammation of the membranes that surround the lungs and line the chest cavity (pleurae). This can result in a sharp chest pain while breathing. Occasionally the pain may be a constant dull ache. Other sy ...
shortly before the boat's departure. Like the families of the crew, Guschewski did not know what happened to his fellow sailors until 1999. He watched a program which eventually became the PBS ''
NOVA
A nova (plural novae or novas) is a transient astronomical event that causes the sudden appearance of a bright, apparently "new" star (hence the name "nova", which is Latin for "new") that slowly fades over weeks or months. Causes of the dramati ...
'' episode "Hitler's Lost Sub" and contacted the producers shortly afterward, who interviewed him and placed a portion of it in the 2000 American broadcast.
References
Bibliography
*
*
*
*
*
*
External links
*
''Hitler's Lost Sub'' Educational website companion to Public Broadcasting Service, PBS NOVA documentary originally broadcast 14 November 2000. Includes "virtual tour" of submarine and account of survivor.] Accessed 15 November 2006.
''Hitler's Lost Sub'' Transcript of the 14 November 2000 documentary.Accessed 15 November 2006.
{{DEFAULTSORT:U0869
German Type IX submarines
U-boats commissioned in 1944
U-boats sunk in 1945
World War II submarines of Germany
Shipwrecks of the New Jersey coast
U-boats sunk by depth charges
U-boats sunk by US warships
World War II shipwrecks in the Atlantic Ocean
1943 ships
Ships built in Bremen (state)
Ships lost with all hands
Maritime incidents in February 1945