Allied airmen rescued by German U-boats
 

I've made a thread in the Luftwaffe and Axis Air Forces forum here that lists all known cases in which Axis airmen were rescued by German U-boats: http://forum.12oclockhigh.net/showpo...9&postcount=45

Because I was asked to make a similar list about Allied airmen rescued by German U-boats I posted the 7 known cases here in the Allied and Soviet Air Forces forum:

1. 1939-09-14: U-30 rescued 2 airmen of two Blackburn Skua
2. 1941-08-26: U-206 rescued crew of a Armstrong Whitworth Whitley
3. 1943-03-22: U-338 rescued 1 airman of a Handley-Page Halifax
4. 1943-11-27: U-238 rescued 2 airmen of a Vickers Wellington
5. 1944-06-18: U-1000 rescued 2 airmen of a De Havilland Mosquito
6. 1944-10-27: U-1060 rescued 1 airman of a Fairey Firefly
7. 1945-03-24: U-249 rescued 1 airman of a De Havilland Mosquito

1939-09-14: U-30 rescued 2 airmen of two Blackburn Skua
 

U-30 (Oblt Fritz-Julius Lemp) rescued two airmen of two Blackburn Skua in M.Qu. AM 1972 (approx. 56°39'N, 15°24'W, about 280 nautical miles west-northwest of Malin Head) at 1545hrs on 14 September 1939. The U-boat had stopped the British merchant FANAD HEAD and prepared to sink her, but alerted by a distress signal the British aircraft carrier HMS ARK ROYAL on anti-submarine patrol sent a strike force of three Skuas to their position. The first aircraft that arrived at the scene was hit by shrapnel from its own bombs and crashed, the second was not able to find the U-boat as it had dived and the third eventually crashed in an almost exact repetition of the events that led to the loss of the first Skua. Both observers were lost and the pilots taken prisoner by the Germans.

1939-09-14, 803 Sqn FAA, Skua Mk.II, L2873, A7M
Crashed due to damage received from own bombs, loss 100%
Pilot Lt Thurston, R.P., FAA, WIA/POW
Observer PO Simpson, James, FAA/FX 55041, +

1939-09-14, 803 Sqn FAA, Skua Mk.II, L2957, A7K
Crashed due to damage received from own bombs, loss 100%
Pilot Lt Griffiths, Guy Beresford Kerr, FAA/RM, POW
Observer PO McKay, George Vincent, FAA/FX 76293, +

1941-08-26: U-206 rescued crew of a Armstrong Whitworth Whitley
 

U-206 (Oblt Herbert Opitz) rescued six airmen of an Armstrong Whitworth Whitley from two rubber dinghies in M.Qu. AM 1595 (approx. 58°21'N, 14°12'W, about 220 nautical miles west of Hebrides) at 1920hrs on 26 August 1941. The aircraft had been on an anti-submarine patrol when it was forced to ditch after the port engine failed at 1315hrs.

1941-08-26, 612 Sqn RAF, Whitley Mk.V, Z6806, WL-W
Ditched due to engine trouble, loss 100%
Pilot F/O Winter-Taylor, H.C., RAF 42733, POW No 3773
Navigator Sgt Millar, P.H., RNZAF 401210, POW No 9609
Wireless Operator/Air Gunner Sgt Martin, J.S., RAF 998984, POW No 9646
Rear Gunner F/O Grocott, John, ?, POW
Sgt Skuse, R.J., RAF 748628, POW No 9623
Sgt Kennedy, J.H., RAF 630077, POW No 9640

1943-03-22: U-338 rescued 1 airman of a Handley-Page Halifax
 

U-338 (Kptlt Manfred Kinzel) rescued one airmen of a Handley-Page Halifax in M.Qu. BE 6139 (approx. 48°03'N, 14°35'W, about 400 nautical miles west of Brest, France) at 0958hrs on 22 March 1943. The aircraft on convoy escort patrol had been shot down by the U-boat which then rescued the flight engineer who had miracously survived the crash, all other crewmen perished.

1943-03-22, 502 Sqn RAF, Halifax Mk.II, BB314, B
Shot down by U-338, loss 100%
Pilot P/O McCulloch, Leslie John, RAF 49842, +
Co-Pilot Sgt Shepherd, Leslie, RAFVR 1091312, +
Navigator/Bombardier P/O Henderson, John Standish, RAAF 411323, +
Wireless Operator/Air Gunner Sgt Hope, Harry, RAFVR 1002934, +
Wireless Operator/Air Gunner Sgt Shmigelsky, Peter, RCAF R/86417, +
Wireless Operator/Air Gunner Sgt Ellam, Stanley, RAFVR 1108503, +
Flight Engineer Sgt Taylor, Harold Cameron, RAAF 5627, POW No 921
Passenger P/O Stuart, Adam Joseph, RAFVR 130332, + (Navigator from No.1 Observer AFU)

1943-11-27: U-238 rescued 2 airmen of a Vickers Wellington
 

U-238 (Kptlt Horst Hepp) rescued two airmen of a Vickers Wellington in M.Qu. CF 6544 (approx. 38°51'N, 17°26'W, about 380 nautical miles west of Lisbon, Portugal) at 2212hrs on 27 November 1943. The aircraft on anti-submarine patrol had been shot down by the nearby U-764 at 2130hrs, only two of seven crewmen survived the crash. The wireless operator convinced his captors that they had a new passive RDF to home in on the Naxos radar warning devices used by the U-boats, a made up story that eventually led to the order to switch off these devices.

1943-11-27, 172 Sqn RAF, Wellington Mk.XIV, HF153, LF-O
Shot down by U-764, loss 100%
Pilot P/O Wilkin, Thomas Brown, RAFVR 157388, +
Observer Fl/Sgt Farman, Charles Raymond, RAFVR 1337327, +
Wireless Operator/Air Gunner Sgt Semple, Thomas B., RAVRF 1212911, POW No 1480
Wireless Operator/Air Gunner Sgt Stobo, James, RAFVR 1037459, +
Air Gunner Sgt Pitman, Kenneth Douglas, RAFVR 1393911, +
Air Gunner Fl/Sgt Martin, Nicolas J., RAFVR 1035574, POW No 1479

1944-06-18: U-1000 rescued 2 airmen of a De Havilland Mosquito
 

U-1000 (Oblt Willi Müller) rescued two airmen of a De Havilland Mosquito from a rubber dinghy in M.Qu. AN 2391 (approx. 60°15'N, 03°36'E, about 50 nautical miles west of Bergen, Norway) at 0215hrs on 18 June 1944. The aircraft on anti-submarine patrol had been hit by AA fire of U-804 at 2259hrs on 16 June and was forced to ditch 13 minutes later.

1944-06-16, 333 Sqn RAF, Mosquito FB Mk.VI, HP860, 3-R
Shot down by U-804, loss 100%
Pilot Lt Jacobsen, Jacob Martinius, RNoAF, POW
Navigator Fnr Hansen, Per Conradi, RNoAF, POW

1944-10-27: U-1060 rescued 1 airman of a Fairey Firefly
 

U-1060 (Oblt Herbert Brammer) rescued one airman of a Fairey Firefly in M.Qu. AF 6277 (approx. 65°27'N, 11°52'E, about 10 nautical miles south-west of Brønnøysund, Norway) at 0940hrs on 27 October 1944. The U-boat was escorted by the German minesweeper M-433 when they were attacked by four Firefly aircraft of the British aircraft carrier HMS IMPLACABLE at 0930hrs. One of them was shot down but the minesweeper was badly damaged. U-1060 rescued a survivor from the crashed aircraft and then took the burning M-433 in tow, however, a strike force of 13 Barracuda and 3 Firefly arrived from the carrier at 1050hrs that sank the minesweeper and damaged the U-boat so badly that it had to be beached to prevent sinking.

1944-10-27, 1771 Sqn FAA, Firefly, Z1978, 4H
Shot down by U-1060, loss 100%
S/Lt Waters, Samuel Arthur Wentworth, RNVR, +
S/Lt Weir, Colin G., RNVR, WIA/POW

1945-03-24: U-249 rescued 1 airman of a De Havilland Mosquito
 

U-249 (Lt Uwe Kock) rescued one airman of a De Havilland Mosquito in M.Qu. AN 2412 (approx. 60°51'N, 04°24'E, about 10 nautical miles north-west of Fedje, Norway) at 1324hrs on 24 March 1945. The aircraft was on a reconnaisance patrol between Utsira and Utvaer when it spotted and attacked the U-boat, but was shot down by AA fire. The navigator was lost and the pilot rescued by U-249 that transferred him to the Vorpostenboot V 1703 UNITAS 5 before continuing its patrol. The pilot was landed at Bergen and handed over to the local authorities, who executed him.

1945-03-24, 235 Sqn RAF, Mosquito FB Mk.VI, HR434, LA-Q
Shot down by U-249, loss 100%
Pilot F/Lt Williams, Joseph Richard, 138003 RAFVR, POW/+
Navigator F/Lt Flower, John Thomas, 169967 RAFVR, +

Re: Allied airmen rescued by German U-boats
 

Rainer,

Many thanks for the superb information on the Axis and Allied airmen rescued by U-boats. It has been most interesting and useful.

Regards,

Martin.

Re: 1945-03-24: U-249 rescued 1 airman of a De Havilland Mosquito
 

Ultra Decrypts Extract UK NA Reads: [US NA have the full transcript]

1253/24/3/45

From: Kock
To: 11th U/B Flotilla

"Have been attacked by Mosquito, Aircraft shot down. Slight Damage, am proceeding into Bergen. Require Escort Immediately."

1929/25/3/45++EE/WAB++++

Andy Bird

Re: Allied airmen rescued by German U-boats
 

Hello Rainer, hope you are well. The event you describe in post #7 above (U-1060, Oblt Herbert Brammer) sounds familiar: has it been described in detail elsewhere, perhaps a book?

Regards,
Bruce

Re: Allied airmen rescued by German U-boats
 

On

http://www.greenharbor.com/ROHPDF/ROHAU43.pdf

it is stated that on 1st august 1943 Ploesti mission 42-40780 (pilot Fred H Jones) of 44BG 66BS ditched into mediterranean and that they were helped by a german submarine, which however withdrew and let them alone. Can somebody identify that submarine? I never found one near to the ditching site supposedly 30 miles south of Corfu.

best wishes,
FrankieS

Re: Allied airmen rescued by German U-boats
 

The episode regarding the sub is not very clear, coze none of the crew members floating on the life raft were helpped by the German sub in anyway. The sub which
may have been Italian surfaced to identify rather help. In due course a sea Savoia which rescued the crew may have been alerted by the same sub.

1943-08-02: U-453 assisted crew of a B-24D
 

U-453 (Kptlt Egon Reiner Freiherr von Schlippenbach) encountered 9 airmen in two rubber dinghies in M.Qu. CK 7524 (in approx. 39°09'N, 18°58'E, about 50 nautical miles south-west of Corfu) at 0810hrs on 2 August 1943. The U-boat went alongside to identify them, but could not take the men aboard as it was en route to operate against the Allied invasion fleet off Sicily. However, the commander was sorry not being able to help and sent a radio message with their position. They were rescued by an Italian ASR aircraft during the afternoon.

1943-08-01, 67th BS/44th BG USAAF, B-24D-95-CO, 42-40780, "Available Jones" (MACR #2411)
Ditched in Mediterranean after being damaged by flak and fighters over Ploesti, loss 100%
Pilot 1Lt Jones, Fred H., O-389988, POW
Co-Pilot 2Lt Dukate, Elbert L. Jr., O-739924, POW
Navigator 2Lt Sweet, Adolphus J., O-796622, POW
Bombardier 2Lt Bernard, Albert F., O-734871, POW
Engineer/Gunner TSgt Spann, Leo G., 34330466, POW
Radio Operator TSgt Paolillo, Michael A., 34203362, POW
Assistant Engineer/Waist Gunner SSgt Becker, Robert H., 17077406, WIA/POW
Assistant Radio Operator/Waist Gunner SSgt Savettierre, Anthony J., 32495641, WIA/POW
Tail Gunner SSgt Sigle, Michael P., 32468414, POW

Re: Allied airmen rescued by German U-boats
 

@Bruce Dennis

You probably read about it in the book "U-boat versus Aircraft" written by Norman Franks & Eric Zimmerman, the event is mentioned there.

Re: Allied airmen rescued by German U-boats
 

Sounds interesting and it makes sense , earlier on when the Libs left Benghazi an other sub was spotted in the area which may have reported the begin of Ops TW to Kesselring Hdq's . Disputed is the word " he was sorry " eventhough his name may have been linked to this of a German aristocratic family . The WWII history shows that Kriegsmarine and their commanders were anything but sorry when it came to similar situations and actions . The rescue was only on purpose to gather intel about Allied movements and when all interrogations completed they all ended up in Stalags . Review the fate of the two "Maternity Ward " pilots who floated for weeks after after returning from Ploesti eventually the suffer of Jones crew on that Stalag . The war on the German side was very rarely linked to " sorries "and gestures of any type .

Re: Allied airmen rescued by German U-boats
 

Thank you kindly, Rainer, EXCELLENT !!!
Now I know,
best wishes,
Frank

Re: Allied airmen rescued by German U-boats
 

@researcher111

The U-boat commanders could hardly been held responsible for how the prisoners were treated after putting them ashore. I can easily list you over a hundred events where they helped Allied survivors after sinking their ships respectively when they encountered lifeboats or rafts. How many cases can you list where survivors were mistreated or refused help by U-boat crews?

Schlippenbach literally wrote in the war diary of U-453 that he was sorry: "Hinterher tut es mir leid, dass ich den Männern nicht Brot und etwas Wasser zurückgelassen habe." (Afterwards I'm sorry that I have not given bread and some water to the men.)

Incident #2 listed in this thread is one example where the decision to rescue Allied survivors was made for humanitarian and not military reasons. U-206 was en route to its patrol area and it would have been reasonable not to take six enemy men aboard for the duration of the patrol, but Opitz wrote in the war diary of the U-boat: "Ich hätte sie mit frischem Proviant versehen und weitertreiben lassen können. Andererseits hätten sie mit eigener Kraft niemals die 240 Seemeilen entfernte Küste erreicht, sie wären umgekommen. Das erstere wollte ich nicht, das andere konnte ich nicht übers Herz bringen." (I could just have given them fresh provisions and let them drift. On the other hand they would never have reached the 240 nautical miles distant coast by their own power, they would have perished. The former I didn't want, the other I hadn't the heart to do so.)

In this context the article Treatment of Merchant Ship Survivors by U-boat Crews 1939 - 1945 might be of interest and perhaps the book "Neither Sharks nor Wolfes" written by Timothy Mulligan.

Re: Allied airmen rescued by German U-boats
 

Rainer

I don't contest that here and there Whermacht
Luftwaffe and Kriegsmarine commanders acted on
human rather barbaric instincts , no need to cite Rommel
your sub gangs examples or Luftwaffe pilots who elected
to hold the fire , escort crippled 8th AF bombers then salute
the enemy .

What I contest is that in general Kriegsmarine was politically
trained and motivated ,acted barbarically against the British and Allied
fleet and convoys in WWII something you as sub historian
understands it lots better than me and having said that there is no need
to extend the debate beyond these facts .

Re: Allied airmen rescued by German U-boats
 

Not to forget 'barbarism' on the other
side, like dropping atomic bombs or fire bombs on
civilians or pleasure strafing civilians.
But that of course is disgressing...
To my mind there were criminal
governments (Germany, Japan) building up
systems that lead to unethical behaviour, the latter
also occuring in not so criminal societies (
given war circumstances).

best wishes to All,
FrankieS

Re: Allied airmen rescued by German U-boats
 

Rainer has started a very interesting and useful thread, calling on years of research. I hope we can look forward to more of the same and get past the unwarranted and needless sideshows.
Bruce

Re: Allied airmen rescued by German U-boats
 

Rainer - agreed