Axis airmen rescued by German U-boats
 

Over the years I collected some information about the rescue of Axis airmen by German U-boats and I would like to share my research in this thread because my main historical interest is clearly focused on naval warfare and I hope the visitors of this forum with their vast knowledge about the Luftwaffe/Regia Aeronautica can help me to correct or add some details.

I found 26 such incidents so far and will post the details in chronological order in separate posts.

1. 1939-09-12: U-13 rescued crew of a Dornier Do 18
2. 1940-03-29: U-30 rescued crew of a Dornier Do 18
3. 1940-04-26: U-17 rescued crew of a Dornier Do 18
4. 1940-06-06: U-47 rescued 3 airmen of a Dornier Do 18
5. 1941-05-22: U-564 rescued crew of a Junkers Ju 88
6. 1942-02-05: U-105 rescued crew of a Dornier Do 24
7. 1942-02-14: U-86 rescued 3 airmen of a Heinkel He 111
8. 1942-02-15: U-587 rescued 5 airmen of a Focke-Wulf Fw 200
9. 1942-02-15: U-331 rescued 5 airmen of a Savoia-Marchetti SM.79
10. 1942-06-15: U-431 rescued crew of a Do 24 and 3 airmen of a Ju 88
11. 1942-06-15: U-83 rescued crew of a Do 24 and pilot of a Bf 109
12. 1942-08-14: U-255 rescued crew of a Blohm & Voss BV 138

After two rescues of German airmen in February 1942 the BdU (Admiral Karl Dönitz) made the following entry in his war diary:
However, his superiors were not of the same opinion:

12 Sep 1939: U-13 rescued crew of a Dornier Do 18
 

U-13 (ObltzS Karl Daublebsky von Eichhain) rescued all four crewmen of a drifting Dornier Do 18 in M.Qu. AN 6481 (approx. 54°51'N, 04°05'E, about 100 nautical miles north-north-west of Terschelling) at 2025hrs on 12 September 1939. Several towing attempts failed and the next morning the flying boat was taken in tow by the German seaplane tender GUNTHER PLÜSCHOW, but subsequently flooded and was scuttled at 1230hrs on 13 September.

1939-09-12, 2./KüFlGr 106, Do 18 D-2, 717, M2+EK
Emergency landing at sea (cause?), loss 100%
Flugzeugführer Lt Ihnken, survived
Uffz ?, survived
Uffz ?, survived
Uffz ?, survived

29 Mar 1940: U-30 rescued crew of a Dornier Do 18
 

U-30 (Kptlt Fritz-Julius Lemp) rescued all four crewmen of a drifting Dornier Do 18 in M.Qu. AN 3425 (approx. 58°03'N, 05°00'E, about 40 nautical miles south-west of Egersund, Norway) at 0400hrs on 29 March 1940. Unable to take it in tow the U-boat scuttled the flying boat with gunfire.

1940-03-28, 2./KüFlGr 906, Do 18 G, V 862, 8L+GK
Emergency landing at sea due to engine trouble, loss 100% (on rescue mission to locate Oblt Rudolf Quadt, Staffelkapitän of 6./KG 30 and his crew)
Oblt Blanke, Elmer, survived
LtzS Ipach, Hans-Harald, survived
Rusch, survived
Biegel, survived (possibly Bordmechaniker Fw Biegel, Hans 73563/45)

26 Apr 1940: U-17 rescued crew of a Dornier Do 18
 

U-17 (Kptlt Udo Behrens) rescued all four crewmen of a drifting Dornier Do 18 in M.Qu. AN 2755 (approx. 59°33'N, 01°24'E, about 100 nautical miles south-east of Shetland Islands) at 0533hrs on 26 April 1940. Unable to take it in tow the U-boat scuttled the flying boat with gunfire at 0615hrs.

1940-04-25, 2./KüFlGr 406, Do 18 G, V 856, K6+DK
Emergency landing at sea (cause?), loss 100% (possibly shot down by a Blenheim of 110 Sqn RAF)
ObltzS Lorentz, survived
Oblt Grunwald, survived
Fw Brummer, survived
Uffz Alde, survived

6 Jun 1940: U-47 rescued 3 German airmen of a Dornier Do 18
 

U-47 (Kptlt Günther Prien) rescued three airmen from a rubber dinghy in M.Qu. AN 2757 (approx. 59°27'N, 01°12'E, about 100 nautical miles south-east of Shetland Islands) at 0800hrs on 6 June 1940. Survivors stated that their Dornier flying boat was shot down in aerial combat on 4 June, the Beobachter being killed by a head shot and the Bordfunker wounded.

1940-06-04, 2./KüFlGr 906, Do 18 D-3, 790, 8L+LK
Shot down in aerial combat, loss 100% (shot down by Blenheim R3629 of 254 Sqn RAF, FltLt Mitchell, at 1620hrs)
Beobachter LtdR Weinling, Hans, +
Flugzeugführer Ofw Lippert, Bernhard, survived
Bordmechaniker Fw Klare, survived
Bordfunker Uffz Stöckinger, Karl, wounded (flesh wound to the shoulder and a bullet through the calf)

Re: Axis airmen rescued by German U-boats
 

Hi Rainer,

thanks for these information`s.

Regards

Robert

Re: Axis airmen rescued by German U-boats
 

28 March 1940:
I have the surnames Rusch and Biegel also as part of the crew along with Ipach and Blanke. The crew had been sent out to look for Oblt Rudolf Quadt, Staffelkapitän of 6./KG 30 and his crew.

4 June 1940
Forced down by Flt Lt Mitchell in Blenheim R3629, 254 Sqn at 1620hrs. Distress call was not heard by home base. Stöckinger had a flesh wound to the shoulder and a bullet through the calf.

Re: Axis airmen rescued by German U-boats
 

Ranier,

All of these fit into either the Phoney War or Scandinavian Campaign period, which is of high interest for the EoE Project. Do any photos exist of any of these rescues or actions to help illustrate these incidents?

Re: Axis airmen rescued by German U-boats
 

Good information in a little known aspect of the war. Thanks Rainer! :)

Re: Axis airmen rescued by German U-boats
 

Excellent material, Rainer!

Keep it coming, please.

Cheers
Brian

Re: Axis airmen rescued by German U-boats
 

Thks Rainer,

Just to add the Kennz. for 4.June 8L+LK

Rémi

1941-05-22: U-564 rescued crew of a Junkers Ju 88
 

U-564 (Oblt Reinhard Suhren) rescued all four crewmen of a Junkers Ju 88 in the Baltic Sea off Gotenhafen on 22 May 1941. Unfortunately these are all details available about this incident as it happened while the U-boat was still in training.

1941-05-22?, ?, Ju 88?
cause?, loss 100%
4 crewmen survived

1942-02-05: U-105 rescued crew of a Dornier Do 24
 

U-105 (Krvkpt Heinrich Schuch) rescued all seven crewmen of a Dornier Do 24 in M.Qu. BE 6724 (approx. 46°21'N, 15°25'W, about 330 nautical miles north-west of Cape Finisterre, Spain) at 1330hrs on 5 February 1942. The U-boat had survivors from the German blockade runner SPREEWALD aboard, one of them urgently needed medical aid so the flying boat was sent to pick him up, but crashed during landing. The crew was taken off and the aircraft scuttled.

1942-02-05, 1. Seenotstaffel, Do 24 T-1, 23, KK+VB
Crash landing at sea, loss 100%
7 crewmen survived

1942-02-14: U-86 rescued 3 airmen of a Heinkel He 111
 

U-86 (Kptlt Walter Schug) rescued three crewmen of a Heinkel He 111 from a rubber dinghy in the Bay of Biscay in M.Qu. BF 4372 (approx. 47°39'N, 08°15'W, about 200 nautical miles west of Lorient, France) at 0931hrs on 14 February 1942. The survivors stated their aircraft had been shot down on 13 February and the U-boat searched in vain for a second rubber dinghy.

1942-02-13, 8./KG 40, He 111 H-6, 4380, F8+ES (or F8+CS ?)
Crashed in Pl.Qu. 14 West 0986, loss 100% (shot down by ?)
Flugzeugführer Uffz Maye or Mayer, Kurt, survived (rescued by U-86)
Bordfunker Gfr Gruber, Herbert, survived (rescued by U-86)
Bordmechaniker Gfr Hoffmann, Siegfried, survived (rescued by U-86)
Bordschütze Ogfr Bahm, Ludwig, survived (rescued by ?)

1942-02-15: U-587 rescued 5 airmen of a Focke-Wulf Fw 200
 

U-587 (Kptlt Ulrich Borcherdt) rescued five crewmen of a Focke-Wulf Fw 200 from a rubber dinghy in M.Qu. BE 6789 (approx. 45°39'N, 15°05'W, about 300 nautical miles north-west of Cape Finisterre, Spain) at 0100hrs on 15 February 1942. As the U-boat was at the begin of its patrol, the survivors were transferred to the homebound U-130 three days later, this proved to be their luck because U-587 did not return from patrol. The airmen stated that they made a strafing run on a three-masted sailing ship on 13 February, but were hit during the approach by heavy AA fire that killed the commander and forced the Fw200 to ditch.

1942-02-13, 3./KG 40, Fw 200 C-4, 0102, F8+FL
Shot down by shipborne AA fire, loss 100%
Fw Hinze, Kurt, +
Three crewmen lightly injured
Two crewmen survived

1942-02-15: U-331 rescued 5 airmen of a Savoia-Marchetti SM.79
 

U-331 (Kptlt Hans-Diedrich Freiherr von Tiesenhausen) rescued five crewmen of an Italian bomber from a rubber dinghy in the Mediterranean Sea in M.Qu. CO 9225 (approx. 31°57'N, 26°18'E, about 30 nautical miles north-east of Sidi Barrani, Egypt) at 2020hrs on 15 February 1942. The survivors stated that their aircraft had been shot down by three Curtiss fighters after a successful attack on a cruiser.

1942-02-15, 205a Squadriglia, SM.79, ?
Shot down in aerial combat, loss 100% (shot down by 3 Hurricanes of 30 Sqn RAF (Sgt Marrack, Sgt Bate, Sgt Lawrence) while attacking the returning Malta convoy MW-9)
Capitano Marini, Marino survived
Flugzeugführer Angelini, survived
Bordfunker Caponi, survived
Bordschütze Italo, survived
Fotograf Ugo, survived
Bordmechaniker 1o Aviere Motorista Colucci, Giuseppe, +

Re: Axis airmen rescued by German U-boats
 

None that I know of. I think its unlikely that photos exist of the rescues that took place in 1939/40 because most were made at night and U-boats on war patrol seldom had a camera aboard - except if they had a war correspondent aboard or one of the officers was a keen photographer. However, the rescue of airmen by a U-boat was a rare occurrence so I doubt that photos were taken during any of them.

1942-06-15: U-431 rescued crew of a Do 24 and 3 airmen of a Ju 88
 

U-431 (Kptlt Wilhelm Dommes) rescued all six crewmen of a Dornier Do 24 and three airmen of a Junkers Ju 88 from their rubber dinghies in M.Qu. CO 5393 (approx. 34°09'N, 24°26'E, about 50 nautical miles south of Crete) at 2250hrs on 15 June. The flying boat had crashed when it tried to rescue the crew of the Junkers earlier that day.

1942-06-14, 3./KG 54, Ju 88 A-4, 140216, B3+TL
Cause?, loss 100% (apparently lost while operating against the Malta convoy "Vigorous")
Flugzeugführer Lt Müller, missing (possibly Lt Müller, Wilfried, +; body recovered by Italian torpedo boat on 19 June)
Uffz Kurtz, survived
Uffz Springmeier, survived
Gfr Scheer, survived

1942-06-15, 7. Seenotstaffel, Do 24 T-2, 0031, CH+EW
Crash landing at sea during rescue mission, loss 100%
Uffz Forster, survived (possibly Bordmechaniker Uffz Forster, Adolf)
Uffz Fuhrmann, survived
Uffz Westerkowsky, survived (possibly Bordschütze Uffz Westerkowsky, Alfred)
Ogfr Jedermann, survived (possibly Bordfunker Ogfr Jedermann, Ernst)
Ogfr Ritzrau, survived (possibly Flugzeugführer Ogfr Ritzrau, Wilhelm)
Ogfr Wallraff, survived (possibly Bordmechaniker Ogfr Wallraff, Karl)

This incident was already discussed in the following thread: http://forum.12oclockhigh.net/showthread.php?t=43671

Re: Axis airmen rescued by German U-boats
 

U-83 (Kptlt Hans-Werner Kraus) rescued all six crewmen of a drifting Dornier Do 24 and the pilot of a Bf 109 in M.Qu. CO 5688 (approx. 33°03'N, 23°54'E, about 60 nautical miles north of Tobruk) at 2300hrs on 15 June. The flying boat had rescued the fighter pilot, but crashed on take-off earlier that day and was scuttled by the U-boat after all men were taken off.

1942-06-14, 7./JG 53, Bf 109 F-4/Trop, 10163, Weisse 6 + I
Cause?, loss 100% (possibly shot down during aerial combat with a Beaufighter of 252 or 272 Sqn RAF or the South African fighter pilot Lt Van der Spuy)
Lt Hesse, Heinrich, survived

1942-06-15, 7. Seenotstaffel, Do 24 T-2, 0049, CM+IO, Pl.Qu. 23 Ost 3402
Crashed on take-off at sea during rescue mission, loss 100%
Flugzeugführer Ofw Sost, Hans, survived
Ofw Jänsen, survived (possibly Bordmechaniker Ofw Jansen, Peter)
Uffz Förster, survived
Ogfr Münch, survived
Ogfr Möller, survived (possibly Bordmechaniker Ogfr Moller, Robert)
Ogfr Schulz, survived (possibly Ogfr Schulz, Willi)

This incident was already discussed in the following thread: http://forum.12oclockhigh.net/showthread.php?t=43671

Re: Axis airmen rescued by German U-boats
 

Rainer,

Great information, thanks for your work.

I believe the Biegel of 2./KuFlGr 906 rescued by U-30 on 29 March 1940 must be Fw. Hans Biegel 73563/45. The latter was Bordmechaniker on board a BV 138 of 2./KuFlGr 906 which had to ditch off the Blasket Islands, Ireland on 25 November 1940. He and the other three survived and were interned. One would have to consider Biegel a very lucky man !
For more see Dennis Burke's excellent website at ;
www.csn.ul.ie/~dan/war/crashes.htm

Are you planning to do anything similar for Allied airmen rescued by U-boats ?

Regards,

Martin Gleeson.

Re: Axis airmen rescued by German U-boats
 

Rainer,

One of your incomplete reports could be solved:

13.02.42
He 111H-6 WNr. 4380 F8+CS from 8./KG 40 crashed P.Q. 0986 14West (which is some 240 miles west of Lorient)
FF Uffz. Kurt Maye (Mayer ?)
Bf Gefr. Herbert Gruber
Bm Gefr. Siegfried Hoffmann
Bs Ogefr. Ludwig Bahm
All survived

No match for a loss of a Ju 88 in the Baltic area on 22.05.41. The only accident with a Ju 88 on that day happened at Schippenbeil with all four crew members dead.

Re: Axis airmen rescued by German U-boats
 

Hi Martin

Maybe I could do that in the Allied Forces section of TOCH later, but such incidents were very rare - probably less than 10 during the whole war.

Re: Axis airmen rescued by German U-boats
 

Hi Merlin

Thanks for identifying the He 111.

Do you know of any other crashes of a Luftwaffe aircraft in the Baltic Sea on 21 or 22 May 1941? It's quite possible that it wasn't a Ju88 after all.

1942-08-14: U-255 rescued crew of a Blohm & Voss BV 138
 

U-255 (Kptlt Reinhart Reche) rescued the crew of a Blohm & Voss BV 138 in M.Qu. ÄG 8188 (approx. 78°57'N, 20°45'E, about 5 nautical miles south-east of Wilhelmøya, Spitsbergen) at 1752hrs on 14 August 1942. The U-boat was co-operating with the flying boat since 11 August in preparation of Operation "Wunderland" (attack of the German heavy cruiser ADMIRAL SCHEER on the Siberian sea routes) and had refuelled it on occasion, but on 14 August the flying boat was forced to carry out an emergency landing near the U-boat after two engines failed due to contaminated fuel. It was taken in tow and they moved slowly with intermediate stops along the east coast of Spitsbergen until the BV 138 capsized due to strong winds at 1710 hrs on 17 August in M.Qu. ÄG 7969 (approx. 77°27'N, 18°15'E, in the Storfjorden) and had to be scuttled with gunfire.

1942-08-17, 3./KüFlGr 406, BV 138 C-1, 310117, K6+HL
Capsized in tow after emergency landing at sea due to engine trouble, loss 100%
ObltzS Dierschke, survived
Unknown number of crewmen survived

Re: Axis airmen rescued by German U-boats
 

post 21 on 18th September 2015, 22:58 By EdNorth on this site
He 111H-6 WNr. 4380 F8+CS is given as F8+ES

Re: Axis airmen rescued by German U-boats
 

Rainer,

There were no Luftwaffe aircraft lost in the Baltic Sea on 21 or 22 May 1941 with a crew of four.

Re: Axis airmen rescued by German U-boats
 

There is one, a Ju88 of the KG51 9K+BR, "Wasserbrührung b. Tiefflug", that I couldn't trace in the usual records, 3 people safe, 1 dead

...

Rémi

Re: Axis airmen rescued by German U-boats
 

Rainer,

Do you know of any other rescues/assists performed by non-uboats during the war? I have a photograph showing a Do18 of (presumably the 2 Staffel) of KFlGr 106 with the dinghy inflated on the port wing and a vorporstenboote in the background obviously there to provide assistance. Judging by the angle, the photograph was taken from another boat of some kind. Unfortunately the angle of the picture does not show the aircraft letter so I have nothing further to go on than this. Any clues as to vessels involved and perhaps even aircraft letter would be appreciated.

Re: Axis airmen rescued by German U-boats
 

post #27

the accident " a Ju88 of the KG51 9K+BR, "Wasserbrührung b. Tiefflug" happened on 16.05.41 at the river Donau near Preßburg in Slovakia.

Re: Axis airmen rescued by German U-boats
 

I'm aware of two Do 18 crews of KüFlGr 106 rescued by Vorpostenboote:
1939-11-23, 2./KüFlGr 106, Do 18 G, V 851, M2+AK, crew rescued by V 804 and aircraft scuttled
1940-04-10, 2./KüFlGr 106, Do 18 G, V 854, M2+AK, crew rescued by V 806 and aircraft scuttled

1942-08-14: U-205 rescued 5 airmen of a Savoia-Marchetti SM.79
 

U-205 (Kptlt Franz-Georg Reschke) rescued five airmen of a Savoia-Marchetti SM.79 from a rubber dinghy in M.Qu. CJ 7591 (approx. 37°45'N, 08°34'E, about 20 miles north-west of Galite Islands, Tunisia) at 1820hrs on 14 August 1942. The survivors stated that they had been shot down shortly after noon on 12 August.

1942-08-12, 109° Gruppo, SM.79, ?
Shot down in aerial combat, loss 100% (shot down by two FAA fighters while attacking the British battleship HMS NELSON in the "Pedestal" convoy to Malta)
Maggiore Zanardi, Alfredo, survived (commanding officer 109° Gruppo)
4 unknown crewmen survived (one of them lightly injured)
Bordfunker Sergente Maggiore Rombola, Pasquale, +

1942-08-15: U-205 rescued 5 Italian airmen of a Cant
 

U-205 (Kptlt Franz-Georg Reschke) rescued five airmen of an Italian Cant from a rubber dinghy in M.Qu. CJ 7498 (approx. 37°33'N, 07°30'E, about 40 nautical miles north-north-west of Bone, Algeria) at 1700 hrs on 15 August 1942. The survivors stated that they had been shot down in the evening on 11 August.

1942-08-11, ?, Cant, ? (possibly a Cant Z.1007 of 51° Gruppo, shot down by FAA fighters while shadowing the "Pedestal" convoy to Malta)
Cause?, loss 100%
5 unknown crewmen wounded (all of them were badly burned and had other injuries)

1942-09-13: U-589 rescued crew of a Heinkel He 111
 

U-589 (Krvkpt Hans-Joachim Horrer) rescued the crew of a Heinkel He 111 in M.Qu. AB 3475 (approx. 75°27'N, 11°30'E, about 100 nautical miles south-west of Spitsbergen) at 1715hrs on 13 September 1942. The airmen were all lost when the U-boat was sunk with all hands the next day while operating against the convoy PQ-18.

1942-09-13, I./KG 26, He 111 H-6, 7567, 1H+NK
Emergency landing at sea (cause?), loss 100%
Flugzeugführer Lt Harnau, Arnold, +
Beobachter Uffz Telgenwerth, Werner, +
Bordfunker Uffz Kullick, Walter, +
Bordmechaniker Uffz Trunner, Friedrich, +

1942-09-14: U-405 rescued crew of a He 115 and two airmen of a Ju 88
 

U-405 (Krvkpt Rolf-Heinrich Hopman) rescued the crew of a Heinkel He 115 and two airmen of a Junkers Ju 88 in M.Qu. AC 1438 (approx. 75°57'N, 22°30'E, about 50 nautical miles south-west of Hopen Island) at 1550hrs on 14 September 1942. The Heinkel sank after a float broke off when it attempted to land to rescue the men from the Junkers. The U-boat reached the rubber dinghy from the Ju 88 one hour afterwards, but the three occupants that clung to it were unable to catch the lines thrown to them, so Matrose Giese jumped into the ice cold water to pull the dinghy close enough to recover the airmen. However, the U-boat men discovered that one of them was already dead and the other two were unconscious. Both died shortly after being picked up (Ofw Haase from his head injury and Uffz Gutzend from internal injuries or exposure) and were buried at sea.

1942-09-14, 1./KüFlGr 406, He 115 B, 2413, Vbkz?
Crashed during landing at sea to recover survivors in Pl.Qu. 27 Ost 2625, loss 100%
Oblt Rohwer, survived
Fw Hupe, survived
Ogfr Fisch, survived

1942-09-14, III./KG 26, Ju 88 A-4, 1774, 1T+OT
Shot down in aerial combat, loss 100% (shot down by Sea Hurricanes from British escort carrier HMS AVENGER while attacking the convoy PQ-18)
Flugzeugführer Haase, Günther, + (died of wounds, buried at sea)
Beobachter Reisbitzen, Heinz, +
Bordfunker Gutzend, Hans, + (died of wounds, buried at sea)
Bordschütze Heinisch, Fritz, +

1942-11-14: U-77 rescued 2 airmen of a Junkers Ju 88
 

U-77 (Oblt Otto Hartmann) rescued 2 airmen of a Junkers Ju 88 in M.Qu. CH 9445 (approx. 37°03'N, 03°06'E, about 20 nautical miles north of Algiers, Algeria) at 1410hrs on 14 November 1942.

1942-11-09, 7./KG 26, Ju 88 A-4/LT, 140088, 1T+AR
Shot down in aerial combat, loss 100%
Flugzeugführer Hptm Nocken, Klaus-Wilhelm, wounded (Staffelkapitän)
Beobachter Lt Lampe, Ernst, missing
Bordfunker Uffz Müller, Klaus, survived
Passenger Sdfhr Rompel, Hans, missing (war correspondent)

1943-01-25: U-405 rescued 2 airmen of a Heinkel He 59
 

U-405 (Krvkpt Rolf-Heinrich Hopman) rescued 2 airmen of a drifting Heinkel He 59 off Bergen, Norway at 1405hrs on 25 January 1943. The U-boat was carrying sea trials off the harbor when it encountered the drifting aircraft, took off two men and took the He 59 in tow until relieved by a tug.

1943-01-25, ?, He 59, ?
Cause? recovered, not lost

1943-03-25: U-341 rescued crew of an Arado Ar 196
 

U-341 (Oblt Dietrich Epp) rescued the crew of a drifting Arado Ar 196 in M.Qu. AO 8411 (approx. 55°27'N, 15°35'E, about 25 nautical miles north-east of Bornholm) on 25 March 1943. The aircraft sank after the wounded crew was taken off.

1943-03-25, Erg.Küsten-Nahaufkl. und Bordfliegerstaffel, Ar 196 A-3, 0152, 6H+EM
Crashed at 1230hrs during anti-submarine exercise, loss 100%
Flugzeugführer Uffz Gerdes, Bernhard, wounded
Beobachter Lt, Tzeutschler, Siegmund, wounded

1943-07-28: U-489 rescued 3 airmen of a Blohm & Voss BV 138
 

U-489 (Oblt Adalbert Schmandt) rescued three airmen of a Blohm & Voss BV 138 in M.Qu. AF 7369 (approx. 63°03'N, 02°37'E, about 100 nautical miles west-north-west of Alesund, Norway) on 28 July 1943. The U-boat was itself sunk by a Sunderland of 423 Sqn RAF on 4 August 1943 and almost all crew members, including the three rescued airmen became prisoners of war.

1943-07-28, 2./KüFlGr 406, Bv 138 C-1, 0311047, K6+BK
Shot down in aerial combat in Pl.Qu. 16 West 06037, loss 100% (shot down by Beaufighter Mk.XIC JM123 of 404 Sqn RCAF/H, pilot F/O E.J. Keefe)
Flugzeugführer Fw Kopatzki, Klaus, +
Beobachter LtzS Knittel, Hans, pow
Bordfunker Uffz Hengst, Heinrich, pow
Bordmechaniker Ofw Henrich, Werner, +
Bordschütze Uffz Mohlau, Werner, pow

This incident was already discussed in this thread: http://forum.12oclockhigh.net/showthread.php?t=26223

1943-08-20: U-601 rescued crew of a Blohm & Voss BV 138
 

U-601 (Kptlt Peter-Ottmar Grau) rescued the crew of a drifting Blohm & Voss BV 138 in M.Qu. AT 2421 (approx. 76°09'N, 57°10'E, about 30 nautical miles north-west of Severny Island, Novaya Zemlya) at 2255hrs on 20 August 1943. The flying boat made an emergency landing while returning from Operation "Wunderland II" (planned attack of the German heavy cruiser LÜTZOW on the Siberian sea route) and was taken in tow by the U-boat, but worsening weather and the appearance of Soviet patrol aircraft forced U-601 to scuttle the aircraft at 0313 hrs on 21 August in M.Qu. AT 2513 (approx. 76°09'N, 59°50'E).

1943-08-20, 2./SAGr 130, Bv 138 C-1, 0311039, 6I+KK
Emergency landing at sea in Pl.Qu. 67 Ost 0782, loss 100%
Ogfr Kroll, survived
unknown number of crewmen survived

1943-08-24: U-340 rescued 5 airmen of a Focke-Wulf Fw 200
 

U-340 (Oblt Hans-Joachim Klaus) rescued 5 airmen of a Focke-Wulf Fw 200 from a rubber dinghy in M.Qu. CG 1631 (approx. 41°57'N, 11°50'W, about 140 nautical miles west of Vigo, Spain) at 0335 hrs on 24 August 1943. The survivors stated their aircraft had been shot down and was forced to ditch at 1800hrs on 23 August.

1943-08-23, 7./KG 40, Fw 200 C-5, 0214, F8+NT
Shot down, loss 100%
Flugzeugführer Ofw Billing, Alfred, survived
Uffz Jacobi, G., survived
Bordfunker Uffz Hirschfeld, Otto, survived
Uffz Lelewel, K., survived
Bordschütze Uffz Stanjewski, Josef, survived
Bordmechaniker Ofw Gentsch, Hans, + (failed to leave the sinking aircraft)