![Submarine attack (AWM 304949)](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/f1/Submarine_attack_%28AWM_304949%29.jpg)
The ''Gruppe Monsun'' or Monsoon Group was a force of German
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 ...
s (
submarine
A submarine (or sub) is a watercraft capable of independent operation underwater. It differs from a submersible, which has more limited underwater capability. The term is also sometimes used historically or colloquially to refer to remotely op ...
s) that operated in the
Pacific
The Pacific Ocean is the largest and deepest of Earth's five oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic Ocean in the north to the Southern Ocean (or, depending on definition, to Antarctica) in the south, and is bounded by the continen ...
and
Indian Ocean
The Indian Ocean is the third-largest of the world's five oceanic divisions, covering or ~19.8% of the water on Earth's surface. It is bounded by Asia to the north, Africa to the west and Australia to the east. To the south it is bounded by th ...
s 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 ...
. Although similar naming conventions were used for temporary groupings of submarines in the Atlantic, the longer duration of Indian Ocean patrols caused the name to be permanently associated with the relatively small number of U-boats operating out of
Penang
Penang ( ms, Pulau Pinang, is a Malaysian state located on the northwest coast of Peninsular Malaysia, by the Malacca Strait. It has two parts: Penang Island, where the capital city, George Town, is located, and Seberang Perai on the Malay ...
(primarily its capital,
George Town). After 1944, the U-boats of the ''Monsun Gruppe'' were operationally placed under the authority of the
Southeast Asia U-boat Region.
The Indian Ocean was the only place where
German
German(s) may refer to:
* Germany (of or related to)
** Germania (historical use)
* Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language
** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law
**Ge ...
and Japanese forces fought in the same
theatre
Theatre or theater is a collaborative form of performing art that uses live performers, usually actors or actresses, to present the experience of a real or imagined event before a live audience in a specific place, often a stage. The perform ...
. To avoid incidents between Germans and Japanese, attacks on other submarines were strictly forbidden. Altogether 41 U-boats of all types including transports would be sent; a large number of these, however, were lost and only a small fraction returned to Europe.
[Fate of the Far Eastern Boats](_blank)
/ref>
/ref>
Indian Ocean trade routes
The Indian Ocean was considered strategically important, containing India
India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...
, and the shipping route
A sea lane, sea road or shipping lane is a regularly used navigable route for large water vessels (ships) on wide waterways such as oceans and large lakes, and is preferably safe, direct and economic. During the Age of Sail, they were determined ...
s and strategic raw materials
A raw material, also known as a feedstock, unprocessed material, or primary commodity, is a basic material that is used to produce goods, finished goods, energy, or intermediate materials that are feedstock for future finished products. As feedst ...
that the British needed for the war effort. In the early years of the war German merchant raider
Merchant raiders are armed commerce raiding ships that disguise themselves as non-combatant merchant vessels.
History
Germany used several merchant raiders early in World War I (1914–1918), and again early in World War II (1939–1945). The cap ...
s and pocket battleship
The ''Deutschland'' class was a series of three ''Panzerschiffe'' (armored ships), a form of heavily armed cruiser, built by the ''Reichsmarine'' officially in accordance with restrictions imposed by the Treaty of Versailles. The ships of the cl ...
s had sunk a number of merchant ship
A merchant ship, merchant vessel, trading vessel, or merchantman is a watercraft that transports cargo or carries passengers for hire. This is in contrast to pleasure craft, which are used for personal recreation, and naval ships, which are u ...
s in the Indian Ocean; however as the war progressed it became more difficult for them to operate in the area and by 1942 most were either sunk or dispersed. From 1941, U-boats were also considered for deployment to this area but due to the successful periods known as the First
First or 1st is the ordinal form of the number one (#1).
First or 1st may also refer to:
*World record, specifically the first instance of a particular achievement
Arts and media Music
* 1$T, American rapper, singer-songwriter, DJ, and rec ...
and Second Happy Time
The "Second Happy Time" (; officially Operation Paukenschlag ("Operation Drumbeat"), and also known among German submarine commanders as the "American Shooting Season") was a phase in the Battle of the Atlantic during which Axis submarines att ...
s, it was decided that sending U-boats to the Indian Ocean would be an unnecessary diversion. There were also no foreign bases in which units could operate from and be resupplied, hence they would be operating at the limits of their range. As a result, the Germans concentrated primarily on their U-boat campaign in the North Atlantic
The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's five oceans, with an area of about . It covers approximately 20% of Earth's surface and about 29% of its water surface area. It is known to separate the "Old World" of Africa, Europe and ...
.
Japan's entry into the war in 1941 led to the capture of European South-east Asian colonies
In modern parlance, a colony is a territory subject to a form of foreign rule. Though dominated by the foreign colonizers, colonies remain separate from the administration of the original country of the colonizers, the '' metropolitan state'' ...
such as British Malaya
The term "British Malaya" (; ms, Tanah Melayu British) loosely describes a set of states on the Malay Peninsula and the island of Singapore that were brought under British hegemony or control between the late 18th and the mid-20th century. U ...
and the Dutch East Indies
The Dutch East Indies, also known as the Netherlands East Indies ( nl, Nederlands(ch)-Indië; ), was a Dutch colony consisting of what is now Indonesia. It was formed from the nationalised trading posts of the Dutch East India Company, which ...
. In May and June 1942, Japanese submarines began operating in the Indian Ocean and had engaged British forces in Madagascar
Madagascar (; mg, Madagasikara, ), officially the Republic of Madagascar ( mg, Repoblikan'i Madagasikara, links=no, ; french: République de Madagascar), is an island country in the Indian Ocean, approximately off the coast of East Africa ...
. The British had invaded the Vichy
Vichy (, ; ; oc, Vichèi, link=no, ) is a city in the Allier Departments of France, department in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region of central France, in the historic province of Bourbonnais.
It is a Spa town, spa and resort town and in World ...
-controlled island in order to prevent it from falling into Japanese hands – however, as Japan was never known (from post-war evaluation) to have had plans to place Madagascar within its own sphere of influence, Britain's defense of the island could also have been surmised to have been a plausible defense against any possibility of Madagascar falling under Germany's own ambitions.
Axis strategic raw materials
The German invasion of the Soviet Union
The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen national ...
in 1941 had ended the use of overland routes which were for the delivery of strategic material
Strategic material is any sort of raw material that is important to an individual's or organization's strategic plan and supply chain management. Lack of supply of strategic materials may leave an organization or government vulnerable to disru ...
s from southeast Asia, and few Axis ships were able to avoid Allied patrols of the North Atlantic. Japan was interested in exchanging military technology with Germany, the Japanese submarine ''I-30'' initiated the submerged transport of strategic materials in mid-1942 by delivering 1500 kg of mica
Micas ( ) are a group of silicate minerals whose outstanding physical characteristic is that individual mica crystals can easily be split into extremely thin elastic plates. This characteristic is described as perfect basal cleavage. Mica is ...
and 660 kg of shellac
Shellac () is a resin secreted by the female lac bug on trees in the forests of India and Thailand. It is processed and sold as dry flakes and dissolved in alcohol to make liquid shellac, which is used as a brush-on colorant, food glaze and ...
.[Blair, Clay ''Hitler's U-Boat War: The Hunted 1942–1945'' (1998) Random House p.231] Japanese submarines designed for the vast distances of the Pacific were more capable transports than the compact German U-boats which were designed for operations around coastal Europe; but large Italian
Italian(s) may refer to:
* Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries
** Italians, an ethnic group or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom
** Italian language, a Romance language
*** Regional Ita ...
submarines had proved ineffective for convoy attacks. The Italian Royal Navy (''Regia Marina
The ''Regia Marina'' (; ) was the navy of the Kingdom of Italy (''Regno d'Italia'') from 1861 to 1946. In 1946, with the Italian constitutional referendum, 1946, birth of the Italian Republic (''Repubblica Italiana''), the ''Regia Marina'' ch ...
'') converted seven Italian submarines operating from BETASOM
BETASOM (an Italian language acronym of ''Bordeaux Sommergibile'' or ''Sommergibili'') was a submarine base established at Bordeaux, France by the Italian '' Regia Marina Italiana'' during World War II. From this base, Italian submarines participa ...
into " transport submarines" in order to exchange rare or irreplaceable trade goods with Japan. They were: The ''Bagnolin'', the ''Barbarigo'', the ''Cappellini'' (renamed ''Aquilla III'' in May 1943), the ''Finzi'', the ''Giuliani'', the ''Tazzoli'' and the ''Torelli''.
Joint operations in the Indian Ocean
The idea of stationing U-boats in Malaya and the East Indies for operations in the Indian Ocean was first proposed by the Japanese in December 1942. As no supplies were available at either location, the idea was turned down, although a number of U-boats operated around the Cape of Good Hope
The Cape of Good Hope ( af, Kaap die Goeie Hoop ) ;''Kaap'' in isolation: pt, Cabo da Boa Esperança is a rocky headland on the Atlantic coast of the Cape Peninsula in South Africa.
A common misconception is that the Cape of Good Hope is t ...
at the time. A few days after ''Cappellini'' reached the East Indies, ''U-511'' became the first U-boat to complete the voyage. This boat carried the Japanese naval attache Admiral Naokuni Nomura
was an admiral in the Imperial Japanese Navy, and briefly served as Navy Minister in the 1940s.
Biography
Nomura was born in Hioki, Kagoshima prefecture. He graduated from the 35th class of the Imperial Japanese Naval Academy on 20 November ...
from Berlin
Berlin ( , ) is the capital and largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's most populous city, according to population within city limits. One of Germany's sixteen constitue ...
to Kure
is a port and major shipbuilding city situated on the Seto Inland Sea in Hiroshima Prefecture, Japan. With a strong industrial and naval heritage, Kure hosts the second-oldest naval dockyard in Japan and remains an important base for the Japan M ...
. The boat was given to Japan as ''RO-500''; its German crew returned to Penang to provide replacement personnel for the main submarine base being established at a former British seaplane
A seaplane is a powered fixed-wing aircraft capable of takeoff, taking off and water landing, landing (alighting) on water.Gunston, "The Cambridge Aerospace Dictionary", 2009. Seaplanes are usually divided into two categories based on their tec ...
station on the west coast of the Malayan Peninsula.[Blair, Clay ''Hitler's U-Boat War: The Hunted 1942–1945'' (1998) Random House p.239] A second base was established at Kobe
Kobe ( , ; officially , ) is the capital city of Hyōgo Prefecture Japan. With a population around 1.5 million, Kobe is Japan's seventh-largest city and the third-largest port city after Tokyo and Yokohama. It is located in Kansai region, whic ...
; small repair bases were located at Singapore
Singapore (), officially the Republic of Singapore, is a sovereign island country and city-state in maritime Southeast Asia. It lies about one degree of latitude () north of the equator, off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, borde ...
, Jakarta
Jakarta (; , bew, Jakarte), officially the Special Capital Region of Jakarta ( id, Daerah Khusus Ibukota Jakarta) is the capital and largest city of Indonesia. Lying on the northwest coast of Java, the world's most populous island, Jakarta ...
, and Surabaya
Surabaya ( jv, ꦱꦸꦫꦧꦪ or jv, ꦯꦹꦫꦨꦪ; ; ) is the capital city of the Provinces of Indonesia, Indonesian province of East Java and the List of Indonesian cities by population, second-largest city in Indonesia, after Jakarta. L ...
. As part of the dispersal of U-boat operations following heavy losses in the North Atlantic in early 1943, Wilhelm Dommes
__NOTOC__
Wilhelm Dommes (16 April 1907 in Berent District, West Prussia – 23 January 1990 in Hannover) was a German U-boat commander in World War II and recipient of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross of Nazi Germany. He was the commander of ...
was ordered to sail his ''U-178'' from his operating area off South Africa to assume command at Penang.
Early submarine patrols to Penang
* Japanese submarine ''I-30'' sailed 22 August 1942 carrying German 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, Torpedo Data Computer
The Torpedo Data Computer (TDC) was an early electromechanical analog computer used for torpedo fire-control on American submarines during World War II. Britain, Germany, and Japan also developed automated torpedo fire control equipment, but ...
, search radar
Radar is a detection system that uses radio waves to determine the distance (''ranging''), angle, and radial velocity of objects relative to the site. It can be used to detect aircraft, ships, spacecraft, guided missiles, motor vehicles, w ...
, Metox
The R600A Metox, named after its manufacturer, was a pioneering high-frequency radar warning receiver (RWR) manufactured by a small French company in occupied Paris. It was tuned to receive the signals used by many British radars of the early a ...
, hydrophone
A hydrophone ( grc, ὕδωρ + φωνή, , water + sound) is a microphone designed to be used underwater for recording or listening to underwater sound. Most hydrophones are based on a piezoelectric transducer that generates an electric potenti ...
array, 50 Enigma machines and 240 ''Bolde'' sonar
Sonar (sound navigation and ranging or sonic navigation and ranging) is a technique that uses sound propagation (usually underwater, as in submarine navigation) to navigation, navigate, measure distances (ranging), communicate with or detect o ...
countermeasure
A countermeasure is a measure or action taken to counter or offset another one. As a general concept, it implies precision and is any technological or tactical solution or system designed to prevent an undesirable outcome in the process. The fi ...
charges. She struck a mine
Mine, mines, miners or mining may refer to:
Extraction or digging
* Miner, a person engaged in mining or digging
*Mining, extraction of mineral resources from the ground through a mine
Grammar
*Mine, a first-person English possessive pronoun
...
and sank off Singapore on 13 October 1942.
* ''Tazzoli'' sailed in a cargo configuration on 21 May 1943 and was sunk by aircraft in the Bay of Biscay.[Brice, Martin ''Axis Blockade Runners of World War II'' (1981) Naval Institute Press pp.131-133]
* ''Barbarigo'' sailed in a cargo configuration on 17 June 1943 and was sunk by aircraft in the Bay of Biscay.
* sailed in a cargo configuration on 11 May 1943 with 160 tons of mercury
Mercury commonly refers to:
* Mercury (planet), the nearest planet to the Sun
* Mercury (element), a metallic chemical element with the symbol Hg
* Mercury (mythology), a Roman god
Mercury or The Mercury may also refer to:
Companies
* Merc ...
, aluminum
Aluminium (aluminum in American and Canadian English) is a chemical element with the symbol Al and atomic number 13. Aluminium has a density lower than those of other common metals, at approximately one third that of steel. It has ...
, welding
Welding is a fabrication (metal), fabrication process that joins materials, usually metals or thermoplastics, by using high heat to melt the parts together and allowing them to cool, causing Fusion welding, fusion. Welding is distinct from lower ...
steel
Steel is an alloy made up of iron with added carbon to improve its strength and fracture resistance compared to other forms of iron. Many other elements may be present or added. Stainless steels that are corrosion- and oxidation-resistant ty ...
, 20mm gun
A gun is a ranged weapon designed to use a shooting tube (gun barrel) to launch projectiles. The projectiles are typically solid, but can also be pressurized liquid (e.g. in water guns/cannons, spray guns for painting or pressure washing, p ...
s, ammunition
Ammunition (informally ammo) is the material fired, scattered, dropped, or detonated from any weapon or weapon system. Ammunition is both expendable weapons (e.g., bombs, missiles, grenades, land mines) and the component parts of other weap ...
, bomb
A bomb is an explosive weapon that uses the Exothermic process, exothermic reaction of an explosive material to provide an extremely sudden and violent release of energy. Detonations inflict damage principally through ground- and atmosphere-t ...
prototype
A prototype is an early sample, model, or release of a product built to test a concept or process. It is a term used in a variety of contexts, including semantics, design, electronics, and Software prototyping, software programming. A prototyp ...
s, bombsight
A bombsight is a device used by military aircraft to drop bombs accurately. Bombsights, a feature of combat aircraft since World War I, were first found on purpose-designed bomber aircraft and then moved to fighter-bombers and modern tactical ...
s and tank
A tank is an armoured fighting vehicle intended as a primary offensive weapon in front-line ground combat. Tank designs are a balance of heavy firepower, strong armour, and good battlefield mobility provided by tracks and a powerful engin ...
blueprint
A blueprint is a reproduction of a technical drawing or engineering drawing using a contact print process on light-sensitive sheets. Introduced by Sir John Herschel in 1842, the process allowed rapid and accurate production of an unlimited number ...
s; she reached Singapore on 13 July 1943.
* ''U-511'' sailed on 10 May 1943 and sank the 7,200-ton American Liberty Ship
Liberty ships were a class of cargo ship built in the United States during World War II under the Emergency Shipbuilding Program. Though British in concept, the design was adopted by the United States for its simple, low-cost construction. Mass ...
''Samuel Heintzelman'' before reaching Penang on 17 July 1943.
* ''Giuliani'' sailed in a cargo configuration on 16 May 1943 and reached Singapore on 1 August 1943.
* ''U-178'' sailed on 28 March 1943 and sank the 6,600-ton Dutch freighter ''Salabangka'', the 2,700-ton Norwegian freighter ''Breiviken'', the 6,700-ton British freighter ''City of Canton'', the 7,200-ton American Liberty ship ''Robert Bacon'' and the 4,800-ton Greek freighters ''Michael Livanos'' and ''Mary Livanos'' before reaching Penang on 27 August 1943.[Blair, Clay ''Hitler's U-Boat War: The Hunted 1942–1945'' (1998) Random House pp.772-775]
* ''Torelli'' sailed in a cargo configuration on 18 June 1943 and reached Penang on 27 August 1943.
First wave of ''Monsun Gruppe'' U-boats
With the base established, twelve submarines were assigned to the ''"Monsun Gruppe"'' and directed to proceed to Penang, patrolling along allied trade routes for the duration of their voyage. The group name reflected an intent; that the opening of the Indian Ocean U-boat campaign should coincide with the monsoon
A monsoon () is traditionally a seasonal reversing wind accompanied by corresponding changes in precipitation but is now used to describe seasonal changes in atmospheric circulation and precipitation associated with annual latitudinal oscil ...
season. The Italian armistice
The Armistice of Cassibile was an armistice signed on 3 September 1943 and made public on 8 September between the Kingdom of Italy and the Allies during World War II.
It was signed by Major General Walter Bedell Smith for the Allies and Brigad ...
with the allies became effective as the operation proceeded. The Italian submarine surrendered at Durban
Durban ( ) ( zu, eThekwini, from meaning 'the port' also called zu, eZibubulungwini for the mountain range that terminates in the area), nicknamed ''Durbs'',Ishani ChettyCity nicknames in SA and across the worldArticle on ''news24.com'' from ...
, South Africa rather than continuing to Penang. The converted Italian cargo submarines were taken over by Nazi Germany
Nazi Germany (lit. "National Socialist State"), ' (lit. "Nazi State") for short; also ' (lit. "National Socialist Germany") (officially known as the German Reich from 1933 until 1943, and the Greater German Reich from 1943 to 1945) was ...
's ''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 ...
'' and renumbered with UIT prefixes.
* ''U-200'' sailed on 11 June 1943 and was sunk off Iceland
Iceland ( is, Ísland; ) is a Nordic island country in the North Atlantic Ocean and in the Arctic Ocean. Iceland is the most sparsely populated country in Europe. Iceland's capital and largest city is Reykjavík, which (along with its s ...
by a PBY Catalina
The Consolidated PBY Catalina is a flying boat and amphibious aircraft that was produced in the 1930s and 1940s. In Canadian service it was known as the Canso. It was one of the most widely used seaplanes of World War II. Catalinas served wit ...
on 24 June.
* ''U-514'' sailed on 3 July 1943 and was sunk by a B-24 Liberator
The Consolidated B-24 Liberator is an American heavy bomber, designed by Consolidated Aircraft of San Diego, California. It was known within the company as the Model 32, and some initial production aircraft were laid down as export models des ...
of the RAF
The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the United Kingdom's air and space force. It was formed towards the end of the First World War on 1 April 1918, becoming the first independent air force in the world, by regrouping the Royal Flying Corps (RFC) and ...
s 224 Squadron in the Bay of Biscay on 8 July.[Lenton, H.T. ''German Warships of Second World War'' (1976) Arco p.192]
* ''U-506'' sailed on 6 July 1943 and was sunk by an American 1st A/S Squadron B-24 Liberator in the Bay of Biscay on 12 July.[Lenton, H.T. ''German Warships of Second World War'' (1976) Arco p.191]
* ''U-509'' sailed on 3 July 1943 and was sunk by aircraft from USS ''Santee'' on 15 July.[Taylor, J.C. ''German Warships of World War II'' (1966) Doubleday & Company pp.129-130]
* ''U-516'' sailed on 8 July 1943 but returned to France on 23 August after transferring its fuel to other boats, enabling them to continue when their tanker was sunk.
* ''U-847'' sailed on 29 July 1943 but was damaged by ice in the Denmark Strait
The Denmark Strait () or Greenland Strait ( , 'Greenland Sound') is an oceanic strait between Greenland to its northwest and Iceland to its southeast. The Norwegian island of Jan Mayen lies northeast of the strait.
Geography
The strait connect ...
and was diverted to fuel other boats in the North Atlantic before being sunk by aircraft from USS ''Card'' on 27 August.[Lenton, H.T. ''German Warships of Second World War'' (1976) Arco p.222]
* ''Ammiraglio Cagni'' sailed in combat configuration in early July 1943 but surrendered after the Italian armistice became effective on 8 September 1943.
* ''U-533'' sailed on 6 July 1943 and was sunk by a Bristol Blenheim
The Bristol Blenheim is a British light bomber aircraft designed and built by the Bristol Aeroplane Company (Bristol) which was used extensively in the first two years of the Second World War, with examples still being used as trainers until ...
of 244 Squadron RAF, 29 miles (46 km) off of Khor Fakkan
Khor Fakkan ( ar, خَوْر فَكَّان, Khawr Fakkān) is a city and exclave of the Emirate of Sharjah, located on the east coast of the United Arab Emirates (UAE), facing the Gulf of Oman, and geographically surrounded by the Emirate of Fuja ...
in the Gulf of Oman
The Gulf of Oman or Sea of Oman ( ar, خليج عمان ''khalīj ʿumān''; fa, دریای عمان ''daryâ-ye omân''), also known as Gulf of Makran or Sea of Makran ( ar, خلیج مکران ''khalīj makrān''; fa, دریای مکرا ...
on 16 October.
* ''U-183'' sailed on 3 July and reached Penang 27 October 1943, and was sunk two years later in the Java Sea by .
* ''U-188'' sailed on 30 June 1943 and sank the 7,200-ton American Liberty ship ''Cornelia P. Spencer'' before reaching Penang on 31 October.
* ''U-532'' sailed on 3 July 1943 and sank one Norwegian, one Indian and two British freighters before reaching Penang on 31 October.
* ''U-168'' sailed on 3 July 1943 and sank the 2,200-ton British freighter ''Haiching'' before reaching Penang on 11 November.
A second wave of ''Monsun Gruppe'' U-boats was dispatched from Europe to make up for losses in transit.
* ''U-219'' sailed on a minelaying
A minelayer is any warship, submarine or military aircraft deploying explosive mines. Since World War I the term "minelayer" refers specifically to a naval ship used for deploying naval mines. "Mine planting" was the term for installing controll ...
mission on 22 October 1943 but returned to France on 1 January 1944 after being diverted to fuel other boats in the North Atlantic.
* ''U-848'' sailed on 18 September 1943 and sank the 4,600-ton British freighter ''Baron Semple'' before being sunk by US navy PB4Y Liberators in the South Atlantic on 5 November.[Taylor, J.C. ''German Warships of World War II'' (1966) Doubleday & Company pp.138-141]
* ''U-849'' sailed on 2 October 1943 and was sunk by a USN PB4Y Liberator in the South Atlantic on 25 November.
* ''U-850'' sailed on 18 November 1943 and was sunk by aircraft from USS ''Bogue'' on 20 December.
* ''U-510'' sailed on 3 November 1943 and sank the 7385t British tanker ''San Alvaro'', the 9970t Norwegian ''Erling Brøvig'', the 9181t American freighter ''E.G.Seubert'', the 7229t Norwegian ''Tarifa'', the 7176t American ''John A. Poor'' and the 249t British minesweeping trawler ''Maaløy'' before reaching Penang on 5 May 1944.
Later sailings from Europe
Submarines attempting to reach Penang from Europe suffered heavy attrition, first from bombers in the Bay of Biscay
The Bay of Biscay (), known in Spain as the Gulf of Biscay ( es, Golfo de Vizcaya, eu, Bizkaiko Golkoa), and in France and some border regions as the Gulf of Gascony (french: Golfe de Gascogne, oc, Golf de Gasconha, br, Pleg-mor Gwaskogn), ...
, then from air patrols in the mid-Atlantic narrows and around the Cape of Good Hope, and finally from allied submarines lurking around Penang with the aid of decrypted arrival and departure information.
* Japanese submarine ''I-8'' sailed 5 September 1943 with a cargo of anti-aircraft guns, torpedo and aircraft engines, and ten German technicians; and reached Singapore on 5 December 1943.
* ''U-177'' sailed on 2 January 1944 and was sunk by a USN PB4Y Liberator in the South Atlantic on 6 February 1944.[Taylor, J.C. ''German Warships of World War II'' (1966) Doubleday & Company pp.117-118]
* sailed in a cargo configuration as ''UIT-22'' on 26 January 1944 and was sunk off the Cape of Good Hope by RAF 262 Squadron Catalinas on 11 March.[Brice, Martin ''Axis Blockade Runners of World War II'' (1981) Naval Institute Press pp.145-149]
* ''U-801'' sailed on 26 February 1944 and was sunk by aircraft from USS ''Block Island'' on 16 March.
* ''U-1059'' sailed on 12 February 1944 with a cargo of torpedoes and was sunk by aircraft from USS ''Block Island'' on 19 March.
* ''U-851'' sailed on 26 February 1944 with a cargo of mercury and 500 U-boat batteries, and disappeared in March 1944.
* ''U-852'' sailed 18 January 1944 and sank the 4,700-ton Greek freighter ''Peleus'' and the 5,300-ton British freighter ''Dahomian'' before being sunk in the Arabian Sea
The Arabian Sea ( ar, اَلْبَحرْ ٱلْعَرَبِيُّ, Al-Bahr al-ˁArabī) is a region of the northern Indian Ocean bounded on the north by Pakistan, Iran and the Gulf of Oman, on the west by the Gulf of Aden, Guardafui Channel ...
by RAF Vickers Wellington
The Vickers Wellington was a British twin-engined, long-range medium bomber. It was designed during the mid-1930s at Brooklands in Weybridge, Surrey. Led by Vickers-Armstrongs' chief designer Rex Pierson; a key feature of the aircraft is its g ...
s on 3 April.
* ''U-1062'' sailed on 3 January 1944 with a cargo of torpedoes and reached Penang on 19 April.
* ''U-1224'' sailed as Japanese ''RO-501'' in April 1944 and was sunk in the Atlantic by USS ''Francis M. Robinson'' on 13 May 1944.[Taylor, J.C. ''German Warships of World War II'' (1966) Doubleday & Company p.147]
* ''U-843'' sailed ón 18 February 1944 and sank the 8,300-ton British freighter ''Nebraska'' before reaching Jakarta on 11 June.
* ''U-490'' sailed in an oiler configuration on 6 May 1944 with a cargo of supplies, spare parts and electronics; she was sunk by aircraft from USS ''Croatan'' on 12 June 1944.[Lenton, H.T. ''German Warships of Second World War'' (1976) Arco p.190]
* ''U-860'' sailed on 11 April 1944 and was sunk in the South Atlantic by aircraft from USS ''Solomons'' on 15 June.
* Japanese submarine ''I-29'' sailed on 16 April 1944 with 10 Enigma machines and the latest German radar technology; she was torpedoed by USS ''Sawfish'' on 26 July 1944.
* ''U-537'' sailed on 25 March 1944 and reached Jakarta on 2 August.
* ''U-181'' sailed 16 March 1944 and sank the 7,100-ton British freighter ''Tanda'', the 7,100-ton Dutch freighter ''Garoet'' and the 5,300-ton British freighters ''Janeta'' and ''King Frederick'' before reaching Penang on 8 August.
* ''U-196'' sailed on 16 March 1944 and sank the 5,500-ton British freighter ''Shahzada'' before reaching Penang on 10 August.
* ''U-198'' sailed 20 April 1944 and sank the 3,300-ton South African freighter ''Columbine'', the 5,100-ton British freighter ''Director'', the 7,300-ton British freighter and the 7,200-ton British freighter before being sunk in the Indian Ocean on 12 August 1944 by a Royal Navy hunter-killer group built around ''Shah'' and ''Begum''.
* ''U-180'' sailed in an oiler configuration on 20 August 1944 and was sunk by mines leaving port.
* ''U-862'' sailed on 3 June 1944 and sank five ships before reaching Penang on 9 September.
* ''U-861'' sailed on 20 April 1944 and sank the 1,700-ton Brazilian troopship ''Vital de Oliveira'', the 7,200-ton American Liberty ship ''William Gaston'', the 7,500-ton British freighter ''Berwickshire'' and the 5,700-ton Greek freighter ''Ioannis Fafalios'' before reaching Penang on 22 September.
* ''U-859'' sailed on 4 April 1944 with a cargo of mercury and sank the 6,300-ton Panamanian freighter ''Colin'', the 7,200-ton American Liberty ship ''John Berry'' and the 7,400-ton British freighter ''Troilus'' before being torpedoed off Penang by HMS ''Trenchant'' on 23 September.
* ''U-871'' sailed on 31 August 1944 and was sunk by a RAF B-17 on 26 September 1944.
* ''U-863'' sailed on 26 July 1944 and was sunk by USN PB4Ys on 29 September.
* ''U-219'' sailed in a cargo configuration on 23 August 1944 and reached Jakarta on 11 December.
* ''U-195'' sailed in an oiler configuration on 20 August 1944 and reached Jakarta on 28 December.
* ''U-864'' sailed with a cargo of mercury and plans and parts for Messerschmitt Me 163
The Messerschmitt Me 163 Komet is a rocket-powered interceptor aircraft primarily designed and produced by the German aircraft manufacturer Messerschmitt. It is the only operational rocket-powered fighter aircraft in history as well as th ...
and Me 262
The Messerschmitt Me 262, nicknamed ''Schwalbe'' (German: "Swallow") in fighter versions, or ''Sturmvogel'' (German: "Storm Bird") in fighter-bomber versions, is a fighter aircraft and fighter-bomber that was designed and produced by the German ...
fighters on 5 February 1945 and was torpedoed by HMS ''Venturer'' on 9 February.
* ''U-234'' sailed in a cargo configuration with 74 tons of lead
Lead is a chemical element with the symbol Pb (from the Latin ) and atomic number 82. It is a heavy metal that is denser than most common materials. Lead is soft and malleable, and also has a relatively low melting point. When freshly cu ...
, 26 tons of mercury, 12 tons of steel, seven tons of optical glass, 43 tons of aircraft plans and parts, 560 kg of uranium oxide
Uranium oxide is an oxide of the element uranium.
The metal uranium forms several oxides:
* Uranium dioxide or uranium(IV) oxide (UO2, the mineral uraninite or pitchblende)
* Diuranium pentoxide or uranium(V) oxide (U2O5)
* Uranium trioxide or u ...
and a disassembled Me 262 on 1 April 1945 and surrendered at Portsmouth Naval Shipyard
The Portsmouth Naval Shipyard, often called the Portsmouth Navy Yard, is a United States Navy shipyard in Kittery on the southern boundary of Maine near the city of Portsmouth, New Hampshire.
Founded in 1800, PNS is U.S. Navy's oldest continuo ...
when the war ended.[Taylor, J.C. ''German Warships of World War II'' (1966) Doubleday & Company p.121]
Submarine patrols from Penang
Although operations from Penang had originally been envisioned as patrols along the trade routes while transporting strategic materials to Europe, many were turned back after allied patrols sank South Atlantic refueling assets.
* Japanese submarine ''I-30'' sailed on 22 April 1942 and reached France on 2 August.
* Japanese submarine ''I-8'' sailed on 27 June 1943 carrying tungsten
Tungsten, or wolfram, is a chemical element with the symbol W and atomic number 74. Tungsten is a rare metal found naturally on Earth almost exclusively as compounds with other elements. It was identified as a new element in 1781 and first isolat ...
and an extra crew for ''U-1224'', and reached France in late August 1943.
* Japanese submarine ''I-34'' sailed 12 November 1943 and was torpedoed by HMS ''Taurus'' the following day.[Brice, Martin ''Axis Blockade Runners of World War II'' (1981) Naval Institute Press p.136]
* ''U-178'' sailed 27 November 1943 with a cargo of 121 tons of tin
Tin is a chemical element with the symbol Sn (from la, stannum) and atomic number 50. Tin is a silvery-coloured metal.
Tin is soft enough to be cut with little force and a bar of tin can be bent by hand with little effort. When bent, t ...
, 30 tons of rubber
Rubber, also called India rubber, latex, Amazonian rubber, ''caucho'', or ''caoutchouc'', as initially produced, consists of polymers of the organic compound isoprene, with minor impurities of other organic compounds. Thailand, Malaysia, and ...
and two tons of tungsten. She sank the 7,200-ton American Liberty ship ''Jose Navarro'' before reaching France on 25 May.
* Japanese submarine ''I-29'' sailed 16 December 1943 with a cargo of rubber, tungsten, and two tons of gold
Gold is a chemical element with the symbol Au (from la, aurum) and atomic number 79. This makes it one of the higher atomic number elements that occur naturally. It is a bright, slightly orange-yellow, dense, soft, malleable, and ductile met ...
; she reached France on 11 March 1944.[Brice, Martin ''Axis Blockade Runners of World War II'' (1981) Naval Institute Press pp.136&145]
* ''U-532'' sailed 4 January 1944 with a cargo of tin, rubber, tungsten, quinine
Quinine is a medication used to treat malaria and babesiosis. This includes the treatment of malaria due to ''Plasmodium falciparum'' that is resistant to chloroquine when artesunate is not available. While sometimes used for nocturnal leg cr ...
and opium
Opium (or poppy tears, scientific name: ''Lachryma papaveris'') is dried latex obtained from the seed capsules of the opium poppy ''Papaver somniferum''. Approximately 12 percent of opium is made up of the analgesic alkaloid morphine, which i ...
; and sank the 7,200-ton American Liberty ship ''Walter Camp'' two ships before returning to Penang after the refueling oiler ''Brake'' was sunk.
* ''U-188'' sailed 9 January 1944 with a cargo of tin, rubber, tungsten, quinine and opium; and sank seven British freighters before reaching France on 19 June.
* ''U-168'' sailed 28 January 1944 with 100 tons of tin, tungsten, quinine and opium; and sank a 4,400-ton Greek freighter and the 1,400-ton British repair ship ''Salviking'' before returning to Jakarta after ''Brake'' was sunk.
* sailed for France in a cargo configuration as ''UIT-24'' with about 130 tons of rubber, 60 tons of zinc
Zinc is a chemical element with the symbol Zn and atomic number 30. Zinc is a slightly brittle metal at room temperature and has a shiny-greyish appearance when oxidation is removed. It is the first element in group 12 (IIB) of the periodi ...
, five tons of tungsten, 2 tons of quinine, and 2 tons of opium on 9 February 1944; but returned to Penang after ''Brake'' was sunk.
* ''U-183'' sailed 10 February 1944 with a cargo of tin, rubber, tungsten, quinine and opium; and sank the 5,400-ton British freighter ''Palma'', the 7,000-ton British tanker ''British Loyalty'' and the 5,300-ton British freighter ''Helen Moller'' before returning to Penang after ''Brake'' was sunk.
* ''Giuliani'' sailed for France in a cargo configuration as ''UIT-23'' on 15 February 1944 and was torpedoed three days later by HMS ''Tally-Ho''.
* Japanese submarine ''I-52'' sailed for France in a cargo configuration on 23 April 1944 with a cargo including two tons of gold and was sunk by Grumman TBF Avenger
The Grumman TBF Avenger (designated TBM for aircraft manufactured by General Motors) is an American World War II-era torpedo bomber developed initially for the United States Navy and Marine Corps, and eventually used by several air and naval av ...
s from USS ''Bogue'' on 23 June 1944.
* ''U-183'' sailed on 17 May 1944 and sank one ship before returning to Penang on 7 July.
* ''U-1062'' sailed for France in a cargo configuration on 6 July 1944 and was sunk in the Atlantic on 5 October.
* ''U-168'' sailed 4 October 1944 and was torpedoed two days later by HNLMS ''Zwaardvisch''.
* ''U-181'' sailed 19 October 1944 and sank one ship before returning to Jakarta on 5 January 1945.
* ''U-537'' sailed 8 November 1944 and was torpedoed the following day by USS ''Flounder''.
* ''U-196'' sailed 11 November 1944 and disappeared while traversing an allied minefield
A land mine is an explosive device concealed under or on the ground and designed to destroy or disable enemy targets, ranging from combatants to vehicles and tanks, as they pass over or near it. Such a device is typically detonated automati ...
.
* ''U-862'' sailed 18 November 1944 and sank two ships before returning to Jakarta on 15 February 1945. The ships sunk were the ''Robert J Walker'' on 25 December 1944 and the ''Peter Sylvester'' on 5 February 1945 near Fremantle.
* ''U-843'' sailed for Norway on 10 December 1944 and was sunk in the Kattegat
The Kattegat (; sv, Kattegatt ) is a sea area bounded by the Jutlandic peninsula in the west, the Danish Straits islands of Denmark and the Baltic Sea to the south and the provinces of Bohuslän, Västergötland, Halland and Skåne in Sweden ...
by RAF Mosquitoes on 2 April 1945.
* ''U-510'' sailed for Norway with 150 tons of tungsten, tin, rubber, molybdenum
Molybdenum is a chemical element with the symbol Mo and atomic number 42 which is located in period 5 and group 6. The name is from Neo-Latin ''molybdaenum'', which is based on Ancient Greek ', meaning lead, since its ores were confused with lea ...
and caffeine
Caffeine is a central nervous system (CNS) stimulant of the methylxanthine class. It is mainly used recreationally as a cognitive enhancer, increasing alertness and attentional performance. Caffeine acts by blocking binding of adenosine t ...
on 6 January 1945; and sank the 7,100-ton Canadian freighter before surrendering in France.
* ''U-532'' sailed for Norway on 13 January 1945 with a cargo of 110 tons of tin, eight tons of tungsten, eight tons of rubber, four tons of molybdenum and smaller quantities of selenium
Selenium is a chemical element with the symbol Se and atomic number 34. It is a nonmetal (more rarely considered a metalloid) with properties that are intermediate between the elements above and below in the periodic table, sulfur and tellurium, ...
, quinine, and crystals. The type IXC40 boat sank the 3,400-ton British freighter ''Baron Jedburgh'' and the 9,300-ton American tanker ''Oklahoma''; and surrendered at Liverpool
Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. With a population of in 2019, it is the 10th largest English district by population and its metropolitan area is the fifth largest in the United Kingdom, with a popul ...
when the war was over.
* ''U-861'' sailed 14 January 1945 with 144 tons of tungsten, iodine
Iodine is a chemical element with the symbol I and atomic number 53. The heaviest of the stable halogens, it exists as a semi-lustrous, non-metallic solid at standard conditions that melts to form a deep violet liquid at , and boils to a vi ...
, tin, and rubber; and arrived in Norway on 18 April.
* ''U-195'' sailed for Norway in an oiler configuration on 17 January 1945 but returned to Jakarta on 3 March after experiencing engine trouble.
* ''U-183'' sailed on 24 April 1945 and was torpedoed two days later by USS ''Besugo''.
Japanese salvage
Six boats remaining in Japanese territory were taken over by the Imperial Japanese Navy
The Imperial Japanese Navy (IJN; Kyūjitai: Shinjitai: ' 'Navy of the Greater Japanese Empire', or ''Nippon Kaigun'', 'Japanese Navy') was the navy of the Empire of Japan from 1868 to 1945, when it was dissolved following Japan's surrender ...
when Germany surrendered in 1945.[Taylor, J.C. ''German Warships of World War II'' (1966) Doubleday & Company pp.118-119,140&163]
* ''U-181'' (type IXD2 cruiser) became ''I-501'' was captured at Singapore and sunk by the Royal Navy in the Strait of Malacca in 1946.
* ''U-862'' (type IXD2 cruiser) became ''I-502'' was captured at Singapore and sunk by the Royal Navy in the Strait of Malacca in 1946.
* ''UIT-24'' (originally , then ''Aquilla III'') became ''I-503'' and was found at Kobe when Japan surrendered and scuttled by the US navy in Kii Suido.
* ''UIT-25'' (originally ''Torelli'') became ''I-504'' and was found at Kobe when Japan surrendered and scuttled by USN in Kii Suido.
* ''U-219'' (type XB minelayer
A minelayer is any warship, submarine or military aircraft deploying explosive mines. Since World War I the term "minelayer" refers specifically to a naval ship used for deploying naval mines. "Mine planting" was the term for installing controll ...
) became ''I-505'' and was captured at Surabaya and sunk by the Dutch Navy in the Sunda Strait in 1946.
* ''U-195'' (type IXD1 oiler) became ''I-506'' and was scrapped at Jakarta after Japan surrendered.
Notes
{{Reflist
External links
Monsun boats - U-boats in the Indian Ocean and the Far East
- uboat.net
Military units and formations of the Kriegsmarine
Monsoon Group
Military units and formations in British Malaya in World War II