The Torpedo Alley, or Torpedo Junction, off

North Carolina North Carolina () is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. The state is the List of U.S. states and territories by area, 28th largest and List of states and territories of the United ...

, is one of the graveyards of the Atlantic Ocean, named for the high number of attacks on Allied shipping by

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 ...

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 ro ...

s in

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 World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

. Almost 400 ships were sunk, mostly during the

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 at ...

in 1942, and over 5,000 people were killed, many of whom were

civilians Civilians under international humanitarian law are "persons who are not members of the armed forces" and they are not " combatants if they carry arms openly and respect the laws and customs of war". It is slightly different from a non-combatant ...

and merchant sailors. Torpedo Alley encompassed the area surrounding the

Outer Banks The Outer Banks (frequently abbreviated OBX) are a string of barrier islands and spits off the coast of North Carolina and southeastern Virginia, on the east coast of the United States. They line most of the North Carolina coastline, separating ...

, including Cape Lookout and Cape Hatteras.

Sunken warships

Allied vessels

;SS ''Empire Gem'' The was a recently built 10,600-ton British tanker, armed with one gun, one 12-pounder

anti-aircraft gun Anti-aircraft warfare, counter-air or air defence forces is the battlespace response to aerial warfare, defined by NATO as "all measures designed to nullify or reduce the effectiveness of hostile air action".AAP-6 It includes surface based ...

and six

machine gun A machine gun is a fully automatic, rifled autoloading firearm designed for sustained direct fire with rifle cartridges. Other automatic firearms such as automatic shotguns and automatic rifles (including assault rifles and battle rifles ...

s. While off

Diamond Shoals The Diamond Shoals are an infamous, always-shifting cluster of shallow, underwater sandbars that extend out from Cape Hatteras, North Carolina, United States. Hidden beneath the waves and constantly changing in both form and depth, the shoals are ...

on the night of January 23, 1942, under

Robert-Richard Zapp Robert-Richard Zapp (3 April 1904 – 17 July 1964) was a German naval officer in World War II. As commander of the Type IXC U-boat , he sank sixteen ships on five patrols, for a total of 106,200 tons of Allied shipping. He was a recipient of the ...

detected the unescorted ''Empire Gem'' and the unarmed American merchantman . A few hours later, at about 2:40 am on January 24, ''U-66'' attacked by firing a spread of torpedoes at the ''Empire 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 the ''Venore'', which also sank. Both vessels sent out an

SOS is a Morse code distress signal (), used internationally, that was originally established for maritime use. In formal notation is written with an overscore line, to indicate that the Morse code equivalents for the individual letters of "SOS" ...

and shortly after an American motor lifeboat from

Ocracoke Coast Guard Station Ocracoke may refer to: * Ocracoke, North Carolina * Ocracoke Island Light, a lighthouse on Ocracoke island * Ocracoke Inlet Ocracoke Inlet ()Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the United Kingdom's naval warfare force. Although warships were used by English and Scottish kings from the early medieval period, the first major maritime engagements were fought in the Hundred Years' War against Fr ...

gunners and another seventeen men were killed on the ''Venore''. Twenty-three survivors from both ships were later rescued by American forces. ;SS ''San Delfino'' The was an 8,702-ton armed British tanker. She was attacked east of Cape Hatteras at position on April 10, 1942 by under

Captain Lieutenant Captain lieutenant or captain-lieutenant is a military rank, used in a number of navies worldwide and formerly in the British Army. Northern Europe Denmark, Norway and Finland The same rank is used in the navies of Denmark (), Norway () and Finl ...

Rolf Mützelburg. At 3:47 am ''San Delfino'' was 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 trawler HMT ''Norwich City'' and landed at

Morehead City Morehead City is a port town in Carteret County, North Carolina, United States. The population was 8,661 at the 2010 census. Morehead City celebrated the 150th anniversary of its founding on May 5, 2007. It forms part of the Crystal Coast. Hist ...

. ;SS ''Empire Thrush'' On April 14 the armed British steamer was attacked by , 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. The

United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage ...

Q-ship Q-ships, also known as Q-boats, decoy vessels, special service ships, or mystery ships, were heavily armed merchant ships with concealed weaponry, designed to lure submarines into making surface attacks. This gave Q-ships the chance to open f ...

witnessed the attack on the horizon but was unable to engage. Arriving two hours later, the Americans rescued the British and took them to Norfolk, Virginia. ;HMT ''Bedfordshire'' HMT Bedfordshire

''Bedfordshire'' was a 443-ton British trawler. On May 10, the ''Bedfordshire'' and HMT ''Lowman'' were deployed from their base at Morehead City to

Ocracoke Island Ocracoke
, from the North Carolina Collection website at the

to search for a U-boat spotted in the area. When the vessels arrived they were discovered by Captain Lieutenant Gunther Krech of who 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 the ''Lowman'' but they all missed. The British then maneuvered and began dropping

depth charges 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 hydraulic shock. Most depth charges use h ...

but these failed to destroy their target. At 5:40 in the morning on May 11, the U-boat fired a single torpedo at the ''Bedfordshire'' which 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. ;HMT ''Kingston Ceylonite'' The next warship sunk was the ''Kingston Ceylonite'', another British

naval trawler Naval trawlers are vessels built along the lines of a fishing trawler but fitted out for naval purposes; they were widely used during the First and Second World Wars. Some—known in the Royal Navy as "Admiralty trawlers"— were purpose-built ...

serving in American waters off North Carolina. On June 15, the ''Kingston Ceylonite'' was sailing off

Virginia Beach Virginia Beach is an independent city located on the southeastern coast of the Commonwealth of Virginia in the United States. The population was 459,470 at the 2020 census. Although mostly suburban in character, it is the most populous city ...

in convoy KN-109 when she unknowingly entered a

sea mine A naval mine is a self-contained explosive device placed in water to damage or destroy surface ships or submarines. Unlike depth charges, mines are deposited and left to wait until they are triggered by the approach of, or contact with, any v ...

field laid by four days earlier. The British trawler struck one mine at position and sank. Thirty-three men went down with the ship and only eighteen survived. Two other tankers and the destroyer also 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 HMT ''Bedfordshire''. ;USS ''YP-389'' The small 170-ton American trawler was destroyed during an action with ''U-701'' in the early morning on June 19. German Captain

Horst Degen Horst may refer to: Science * Horst (geology), a raised fault block bounded by normal faults or graben People * Horst (given name) * Horst (surname) * ter Horst, Dutch surname * van der Horst, Dutch surname Places Settlements Germany * Horst ...

decided to surface the submarine and engage with his

deck gun A deck gun is a type of naval artillery mounted on the deck of a submarine. Most submarine deck guns were open, with or without a shield; however, a few larger submarines placed these guns in a turret. The main deck gun was a dual-purpose ...

s in 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 faulty

firing pin A firing pin or striker is a part of the firing mechanism of a firearm that impacts the primer in the base of a cartridge and causes it to fire. In firearms terminology, a striker is a particular type of firing pin where a compressed spring ...

in the trawler's

dual purpose gun A dual-purpose gun is a naval artillery mounting designed to engage both surface and air targets. Description Second World War-era capital ships had four classes of artillery: the heavy main battery, intended to engage opposing battleships an ...

, only

.30-06 Springfield The .30-06 Springfield cartridge (pronounced "thirty- aught-six" ), 7.62×63mm in metric notation, and called the .30 Gov't '06 by Winchester, was introduced to the United States Army in 1906 and later standardized; it remained in military use ...

rifles, .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 though ''U-701'' sustained slight damage. ;SS ''William Rockefeller'' was a one-gun American tanker of 14,054 tons, sunk east-northeast of Diamond Shoals on June 28, 1942. At 6:16 pm, Horst Degen's ''U-701'' released a torpedo which hit the ''William 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 six armed guards evacuated the ship and were picked up twenty minutes later by which then depth charged the area inconclusively. ''U-701'' surfaced the following morning around 5:20 am and delivered a

coup de grâce A coup de grâce (; 'blow of mercy') is a death blow to end the suffering of a severely wounded person or animal. It may be a mercy killing of mortally wounded civilians or soldiers, friends or enemies, with or without the sufferer's consent. ...

which sank the American ship at position without loss of life.

German U-boats

;''U-85''

The first of three German U-boats sunk during the battle for Torpedo Alley was , sunk at midnight on April 13, 1942. While operating within sight of

Bodie Island Lighthouse The current Bodie Island Lighthouse (pronounced “body island”) is the third that has stood in this vicinity of Bodie Island on the Outer Banks in North Carolina and was built in 1872. It stands tall and is located on the Roanoke Sound side ...

, the destroyer detected ''U-85'' on radar at a range of 2,700 yards. The German submarine was surfaced at the time and she attempted to head south. When the ''Roper'' had closed to 700 yards, ''U-85'' released a torpedo from her stern and began firing with her deck gun but the Americans evaded all of the shots. ''U-85'' then turned to starboard and closed to 300 yards where the Americans opened fire with a gun and machine guns. The sailors of USS ''Roper'' were able to hit the U-boat one time with naval gunfire before she submerged and then the Americans dropped eleven depth charges over the enemy and sank her. All forty-six German crew members were killed and twenty-nine bodies were recovered. Some of the dead were wearing civilian clothing and had wallets with United States currency and identification cards in them, suggesting that the submarine had been involved in landing German agents on the mainland. A nighttime military funeral was held for the dead Germans at

Hampton Hampton may refer to: Places Australia *Hampton bioregion, an IBRA biogeographic region in Western Australia *Hampton, New South Wales *Hampton, Queensland, a town in the Toowoomba Region * Hampton, Victoria Canada * Hampton, New Brunswick *Ha ...

Virginia Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States, between the Atlantic Coast and the Appalachian Mountains. The geography and climate of the Commonwealth ar ...

. The hatch of ''U-85'' is now on display at

Cape Hatteras Lighthouse Cape Hatteras Light is a lighthouse located on Hatteras Island in the Outer Banks in the town of Buxton, North Carolina and is part of the Cape Hatteras National Seashore. The lighthouse’s semi-unique pattern makes it easy to recognize and famou ...

and the enigma machine resides at the

Graveyard of the Atlantic Museum The Graveyard of the Atlantic Museum is a maritime museum that focuses on the maritime history and shipwrecks of the Outer Banks of North Carolina. The museum is located in Hatteras Village, the southernmost community on Hatteras Island, North ...

in Hatteras. ;''U-352'' USCGC Icarus (WPC-110)

, under Captain Lieutenant Hellmut Rathke, was destroyed on May 9, 1942 by 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, mu ...

. At position , off Cape Lookout, the picked up a sonar contact just before a torpedo exploded nearby.

Lieutenant A lieutenant ( , ; abbreviated Lt., Lt, LT, Lieut and similar) is a commissioned officer rank in the armed forces of many nations. The meaning of lieutenant differs in different militaries (see comparative military ranks), but it is often ...

Maurice D. Jester knew 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, ''Icarus'' moved accordingly and dropped two more charges, forcing the Germans to surface. Then a short surface action occurred as ''Icarus'' opened fire with machine guns and prepared to ram the enemy

. Before the range closed, the crew of ''U-352'' evacuated their ship and the Americans ceased fire after dropping one last depth charge as the submarine sank. The ''Icarus'' left the scene and the German submariners still in the water but was ordered to return and pick up prisoners. Fifteen Germans were killed and thirty-three survivors were taken prisoner and transported to Charleston,

South Carolina )'' Animis opibusque parati'' ( for, , Latin, Prepared in mind and resources, links=no) , anthem = " Carolina";" South Carolina On My Mind" , Former = Province of South Carolina , seat = Columbia , LargestCity = Charleston , LargestMetro = ...

where they arrived the following day. Lieutenant Jester later received a

Navy Cross The Navy Cross is the United States Navy and United States Marine Corps' second-highest military decoration awarded for sailors and marines who distinguish themselves for extraordinary heroism in combat with an armed enemy force. The medal is eq ...

for his victory over the Germans. The remains of the ''U352'' lie in 115' of water, 26 miles South of Beaufort inlet, NC. ;''U-701'' U-701 Rettung 2

The destruction of happened on July 7, 1942, near Cape Hatteras, and was the last sinking of a German submarine in Torpedo Alley. American

Lockheed Hudson The Lockheed Hudson is a light bomber and coastal reconnaissance aircraft built by the American Lockheed Aircraft Corporation. It was initially put into service by the Royal Air Force shortly before the outbreak of the Second World War and p ...

aircraft from the

United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the land warfare, land military branch, service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight Uniformed services of the United States, U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army o ...

396th Bombardment Squadron attacked the surfaced ''U-701'' with depth charges. The attack was successful and the U-boat sank with twenty-nine hands. Seventeen survivors then went adrift in lifeboats for two days; when they were rescued by American forces, only seven remained. German casualties in Torpedo Alley totaled exactly 100 dead and forty captured. The submarine rests in 110' feet of water near Cape Hatteras, NC.http://sanctuaries.noaa.gov/missions/battleoftheatlantic/pdfs/u701_history.pdf

References

{{Reflist

External links

WWII German UBoats
Naval battles of World War II involving the United States Military history of the United Kingdom during World War II Naval battles of World War II involving Germany Military history of the Atlantic Ocean

Sunken warships

Allied vessels

German U-boats

See also

References

External links