Allied airmen rescued by German U-boats

[Rainer]

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

[Rainer]

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, +

[Rainer]

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

[Rainer]

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)

[Rainer]

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

[Rainer]

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

[Rainer]

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

[Rainer]

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, +

[Martin Gleeson]

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.

[andy bird]

Originally Posted by Rainer

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, +

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