Unterseeboot 468
Encyclopedia
German submarine U-468 was a Type VIIC U-boat
U-boat
U-boat is the anglicized version of the German word U-Boot , itself an abbreviation of Unterseeboot , and refers to military submarines operated by Germany, particularly in World War I and World War II...
of the German
Nazi Germany
Nazi Germany , also known as the Third Reich , but officially called German Reich from 1933 to 1943 and Greater German Reich from 26 June 1943 onward, is the name commonly used to refer to the state of Germany from 1933 to 1945, when it was a totalitarian dictatorship ruled by...
Kriegsmarine
Kriegsmarine
The Kriegsmarine was the name of the German Navy during the Nazi regime . It superseded the Kaiserliche Marine of World War I and the post-war Reichsmarine. The Kriegsmarine was one of three official branches of the Wehrmacht, the unified armed forces of Nazi Germany.The Kriegsmarine grew rapidly...
during World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
. The submarine was laid down on 1 July 1941 at the Deutsche Werke
Deutsche Werke
Deutsche Werke was a German shipbuilding company founded in 1925 when Kaiserliche Werft Kiel and other shipyards were merged. It came as a result of the Treaty of Versailles after World War I that forced the German defence industry to shrink...
yard at Kiel
Kiel
Kiel is the capital and most populous city in the northern German state of Schleswig-Holstein, with a population of 238,049 .Kiel is approximately north of Hamburg. Due to its geographic location in the north of Germany, the southeast of the Jutland peninsula, and the southwestern shore of the...
, launched on 16 May 1942, and commissioned on 12 August 1942 under the command of Oberleutnant zur See Klemens Schamong. She sailed on three war patrols, and sank only one ship before her sinking on 11 August 1943.
1st patrol
U-468 sailed for the first time from KielKiel
Kiel is the capital and most populous city in the northern German state of Schleswig-Holstein, with a population of 238,049 .Kiel is approximately north of Hamburg. Due to its geographic location in the north of Germany, the southeast of the Jutland peninsula, and the southwestern shore of the...
on 28 January 1943, stopping briefly at Kristiansand
Kristiansand
-History:As indicated by archeological findings in the city, the Kristiansand area has been settled at least since 400 AD. A royal farm is known to have been situated on Oddernes as early as 800, and the first church was built around 1040...
, before heading out into the mid-Atlantic. On 12 March, U-468 sank the British 6,537 ton tanker Empire Light with two torpedoes. The tanker, a straggler from Convoy ON-168, had been damaged by a torpedo from on 7 March, and abandoned by her surviving crew. The U-boat arrived at her new home port of La Pallice on 27 March.
2nd patrol
U-468 departed La Pallice for the mid-Atlantic on 19 April 1943, but had no successes. At 08:35 on 22 May the U-boat came under attack by an AvengerTBF Avenger
The Grumman TBF Avenger was a torpedo bomber developed initially for the United States Navy and Marine Corps, and eventually used by several air or naval arms around the world....
torpedo bomber
Torpedo bomber
A torpedo bomber is a bomber aircraft designed primarily to attack ships with aerial torpedoes which could also carry out conventional bombings. Torpedo bombers existed almost exclusively prior to and during World War II when they were an important element in many famous battles, notably the...
of Squadron VC-9
VC-9
VC-9 was an aircraft squadron of the United States Navy. It was stationed aboard , and , both of which served part of World War II in the North Atlantic. VC-9 also served aboard the and took part in the battle of Okinawa. The squadron was decommissioned in 1945 at Arlington, Washington.-External...
flying from the escort carrier . Barely an hour later another aircraft from the same squadron attacked and the U-boat was damaged. Finally, at 15:57, U-468 was attacked for a third time by an aircraft of the Royal Navy
Royal Navy
The Royal Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the British Armed Forces. Founded in the 16th century, it is the oldest service branch and is known as the Senior Service...
's 819 Naval Air Squadron
819 Naval Air Squadron
819 Naval Air Squadron was a Royal Navy aircraft squadron before and during World War II. Along with No. 815 Squadron, it performed the successful night attack on the Italian fleet at Taranto on 11 November 1940...
. The boat defended itself with flak without destroying the aircraft. U-468 had suffered serious damage and was forced her to abandon the patrol, returning to base on 29 May.
3rd patrol
The U-boat sailed for her third and final war patrol on 7 July 1943 from La Pallice. She headed south to the West African coast. There on 11 August U-468 was attacked and sunk by an Allied Consolidated LiberatorB-24 Liberator
The Consolidated B-24 Liberator was an American heavy bomber, designed by Consolidated Aircraft of San Diego, California. It was known within the company as the Model 32, and a small number of early models were sold under the name LB-30, for Land Bomber...
bomber south-west of Dakar
Dakar
Dakar is the capital city and largest city of Senegal. It is located on the Cap-Vert Peninsula on the Atlantic coast and is the westernmost city on the African mainland...
in position 12°20′N 20°07′W. The U-boat's flak hit the aircraft several times and set it on fire, but the Liberator continued to attack and dropped six depth charges before crashing into the sea, killing all eight crewmen aboard. Two depth charges fell very close to the U-boat with devastating effect. U-468 sank within 10 minutes and less than half the crew managed to abandon ship. Many were injured or poisoned by chlorine gas, and drowned, died of exhaustion, or were killed by sharks. Only the commander and six crewmen managed to haul themselves into a rubber dinghy that floated free from the aircraft wreck, and were picked up by the corvette
Flower class corvette
The Flower-class corvette was a class of 267 corvettes used during World War II, specifically with the Allied navies as anti-submarine convoy escorts during the Battle of the Atlantic...
on 13 August.
The pilot of the Liberator, Flying Officer
Flying Officer
Flying officer is a junior commissioned rank in the Royal Air Force and the air forces of many countries which have historical British influence...
Lloyd Allan Trigg
Lloyd Allan Trigg
Flying Officer Lloyd Allan Trigg VC DFC , of Houhora, New Zealand, was a pilot in the RNZAF. He was a posthumous recipient of the Victoria Cross, the highest award for gallantry in the face of the enemy for British and Commonwealth armed forces...
RNZAF
Royal New Zealand Air Force
The Royal New Zealand Air Force is the air arm of the New Zealand Defence Force...
was subsequently awarded the Victoria Cross
Victoria Cross
The Victoria Cross is the highest military decoration awarded for valour "in the face of the enemy" to members of the armed forces of various Commonwealth countries, and previous British Empire territories....
for this action. This is the only time such a decoration has been awarded solely on the testimony of an enemy combatant.
In 2007 New Zealand researcher Arthur Arculus tracked down the German commander Klemens Schamong, at his home near Kiel
Kiel
Kiel is the capital and most populous city in the northern German state of Schleswig-Holstein, with a population of 238,049 .Kiel is approximately north of Hamburg. Due to its geographic location in the north of Germany, the southeast of the Jutland peninsula, and the southwestern shore of the...
.
External links
See also
- List of German U-boats