Allied airmen rescued by German U-boats

[Bruce Dennis]

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

[FrankieS]

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

[researcher111]

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.

[Rainer]

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

[Rainer]

@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.

[researcher111]

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 .

[FrankieS]

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

[Rainer]

@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.

[researcher111]

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 .

[FrankieS]

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