German submarine U-853

"U-853" was a German Type IXC/40 submarine of the Kriegsmarine. Her keel was laid down on 21 August 1942 by AG Weser of Bremen. She was commissioned on 25 June 1943 with "Kapitänleutnant" Helmut Sommer in command. "U-853" conducted three patrols, sinking two ships totalling 5783 tons.

On her final patrol, "U-853" was sent to harass United States coastal shipping. She destroyed USS "Eagle 56" (PE-56) near Portland, Maine. Just days before Germany's surrender, "U-853" torpedoed and sank the collier "Black Point" during the Battle of Point Judith. American warships quickly found "U-853" and sank her 7 miles east of Block Island, Rhode Island, resulting in the loss of her entire crew.

"U-853" is a popular deep sea diving site. She rests in 130 feet of water. Holes in the hull permit access to the interior of the submarine, though it is a war grave with most of the 55 crew bodies remaining inside.

Construction and crew

"U-853" was a German Type IXC/40 submarine built by AG Weser of Bremen. Ordered June 5, 1941, her keel was laid on 21 August 1942 and she was commissioned on 25 June 1943.cite web|publisher=www.uboat.net|title=U-853|url=http://www.uboat.net/boats/u853.htm|accessdate=2007-09-30] She was one of 87 submarines of her type. The Type IXC/40 was a large ocean-going submarine that designed for sustained operations far from the home support facilities. "U-853" carried a crew of 55. The Germans nicknamed the U-boat "der Seiltänzer" ("the Tightrope Walker"), and her crew painted an emblem of a yellow shield with a red horse on her sail. [cite book|title=Due to Enemy Action: The True World War II Story of the USS Eagle 56|last=Puleo|first=Stephen|publisher=Globe Pequot|isbn=1592287395|date=2005|page=15-17]

North Atlantic Ocean operations

On her first patrol from May to June 1944, "U-853" was assigned to weather-watching duty under the command of "Kapitänleutnant" Helmut Sommer. This was his first war patrol. [cite web|publisher=www.uboat.net|title=Helmut Sommer|url=http://www.uboat.net/men/commanders/1203.html|accessdate=2007-09-30] German intelligence believed that weather conditions in the Atlantic could be used to help predict the timing of an Allied invasion of Europe. [cite book|title=Due to Enemy Action: The True World War II Story of the USS Eagle 56|last=Puleo|first=Stephen|publisher=Globe Pequot|isbn=1592287395|date=2005|page=16] On May 25, 1944 "U-853" spotted the "Queen Mary", which was loaded with American troops and supplies. The U-boat submerged to attack, but was outrun by the much larger and faster ship.cite book|title=The Greatest Submarine Stories Ever Told|last=Underwood|first=Lamar|date=2005|publisher=Globe Pequot|isbn=1592287336|page=p. 184-185] As she surfaced in the "Queen Mary's" wake "U-853" was attacked by Fairey Swordfish aircraft from merchant aircraft carriers MV "Ancylus" and MV "Empire MacKendrick". [cite book|title=The Barque of Saviors |last=Drumm|first=Russell|date=2001|publisher=Houghton Mifflin Books|isbn=0395983673|page=p.9] The U-boat took no significant damage and returned fire, hitting all three aircraft. The planes were able to return to their carrier, but after recovery one was deemed a total loss and jettisoned.

The escort carrier USS "Croatan" (CVE-14) had been hunting weather boats for nearly a month and had already sunk "U-488" and "U-490". Intercepted radio transmissions led "Croatan" and six destroyers to search for "U-853". [cite book|title=Due to Enemy Action: The True World War II Story of the USS Eagle 56|last=Puleo|first=Stephen|publisher=Globe Pequot|isbn=1592287395|date=2005|page=17] The "U-853" proved so elusive that "Croatan"'s crew nicknamed their prey "Moby Dick." After ten days of hunting, on June 17 Huff-Duff (HF/DF, high frequency direction finding) picked up a weather report from the "U-853" only 30 miles away. Within minutes two FM-1 Wildcat fighters strafed the submarine, killing "Bootsmann" Kurt Schweichler and "Maschinengefreiter" Karl-Heinz Löffler and wounding 12 other men. Sommer suffered 28 shrapnel and bullet wounds yet still managed to give the order to submerge. In all likelihood Sommer saved his submarine from being destroyed by allied bombers.

Three weeks of pursuit from May 25 until June 17 placed an enormous strain on "U-853"'s crew. Twenty-three year old "Oberleutnant zur See" Helmut Frömsdorf took command of the boat on June 18 (his first command) [cite web|publisher=www.uboat.net|title=Helmut Frömsdorf|url=http://www.uboat.net/men/commanders/332.html|accessdate=2007-09-30] and returned to Lorient. Sommer and a large number of the crew was declared unfit for duty. On July 10 Sommer was formally relieved by "Oberlutenant" Otto Wermuth, but the boat remained in port until August 27. Decorated veteran "Korvettenkapitän" Günter Kuhnke, Commander of the 10th Flotilla, took command for her second patrol. [cite web|publisher=www.uboat.net|title=Günter Kuhnke|url=http://www.uboat.net/men/kuhnke.htm|accessdate=2007-09-30] "U-853" transited to Flensburg, arriving October 14.

Kuhnke assumed command of the 33rd Flotilla upon arriving at Flensburg. He relinquished command of "U-853" back to Frömsdorf, who took the U-boat on her third and final patrol. Before departure "U-853" was fitted with a "Schnorchel", a retractable air intake and exhaust that allowed the ship to remain submerged while running her diesel engines. The "Schnorchel" reduced the need to spend dangerous periods on the surface recharging batteries.

Operation "Seewolf"

On February 23, 1945 Germany sent "U-853" to participate in Operation "Seewolf" where she was sent to harass US coastal shipping. Under the command of Oberleutnant zur See Helmut Frömsdorf, "U-853" did not sink any targets during the first weeks of her patrol. Her crossing of the Atlantic was slow because she used her "Shnorchel" to remained submerged to avoid being spotted by Allied aircraft. [cite book|title=Due to Enemy Action: The True World War II Story of the USS Eagle 56|last=Puleo|first=Stephen|publisher=Globe Pequot|isbn=1592287395|date=2005|page=17] On April 1, 1945 "U-853" was ordered to the Gulf of Maine.cite web|publisher=www.nedivenews.com|url=http://www.nedivenews.com/?q=node/32/print|author=Peter Venoutsos|title=U-853 Closes a Chapter of World War II|accessdate=2008-09-30] April 23 she fatally torpedoed USS "Eagle 56" (PE-56) near Portland, Maine.cite web|title=U-853|publisher=www.uscg.mil|accessdate=2008-09-29|url=http://www.uscg.mil/history/uscghist/U853.asp] The next day USS "Muskegon" (PF-24) made sonar contact and attacked "U-853", but failed to destroy her.

"Eagle 56", a World War I-era patrol boat, was towing targets for a United States Navy dive-bomber training exercise three miles off Cape Elizabeth when she exploded amidships and sank. Only 13 of the 67 crew survived. Although several survivors claimed to have seen a submarine sail with yellow and red insignia, a Navy inquiry attributed the sinking to a boiler explosion. The Navy reversed its findings in 2001 to acknowledge that the sinking was due to hostile fire and awarded Purple Hearts to the survivors and kin of the deceased. [cite book|title=Due to Enemy Action: The True World War II Story of the USS Eagle 56|last=Puleo|first=Stephen|publisher=Globe Pequot|isbn=1592287395|date=2005|page=5]

Battle of Point Judith

On May 5, 1945, President ("Reichspräsident") of Nazi Germany Karl Dönitz ordered all U-boats to cease offensive operations and return to their bases. "U-853" was lying in wait off Point Judith, Rhode Island at the time. According to the US Coast Guard, "U-853" did not receive that order, or less likely, ignored it. Soon after, her torpedo blew off the stern of SS "Black Point", a 368-foot collier underway from New York to Boston. Within 15 minutes "Black Point" had sunk in 100 feet of water less than four miles south of Point Judith.cite web|publisher=www.nedivenews.com|url=http://www.nedivenews.com/?q=node/180|title=U-853|accessdate=2008-09-30] She was the last US-flagged merchant ship lost in World War II. Twelve men died, while 34 crew members were rescued. One of the rescuing ships, Yugoslav freighter SS "Kamen", sent a report of the torpedoing to authorities. The US Navy organized a "hunter-killer" group that included four American warships: USS "Ericsson" (DD-440), Navy; USS "Amick" (DE-168), Navy; USS "Atherton" (DE-169), Navy; and USS "Moberly" (PF-63), Coast Guard. [cite web|title=U-853|url=http://www.uscg.mil/History/WEBCUTTERS/PF63_Moberly.html|publisher=uscg.mil|accessdate=2007-07-23]

The group discovered "U-853" bottomed in 18 fathoms (33 m), and dropped depth charges and hedgehogs during a 16 hour attack. At first the sub attempted to flee, and then tried to hide by lying still. Both times it was found by sonar.cite book | title=Block Island—The Sea | author=Robert M. Downie | publisher= Book Nook Press | date= 1998, page 197] The morning of May 6, 1945 two K-Class blimps from Lakehurst, New Jersey, K-16 and K-58, joined the attack, locating oil slicks and marking suspected locations with smoke and dye markers. K-16 also attacked with 7.2-inch rocket bombs. Numerous depth charge and hedgehog attacks from "Atherton" and "Moberly" resulted in planking, life rafts, a chart tabletop, clothing, and an officer's cap floating to the surface. With the loss of all 55 officers and men "U-853" was the second to last U-boat sunk during World War II. [cite book | title=Block Island—The Sea | author=Robert M. Downie | publisher= Book Nook Press | date= 1998, pages 197-198] "Atherton" and "Moberly" received credit for the kill.

Wreck

"U-853" lies seven miles east of Block Island in 130 feet of water. The US Coast Guard pinpoints the location of the wreck at 41.13N x 71.27W. "U-853" sits upright with her periscope rising to a depth of 100 feet. Most of the 55 crew member bodies remain within the hull, which is a war grave. [cite web|url=http://www.uboat.net/fates/dive/dive_us.htm|title=Dive into History US Waters|publisher=www.uboat.net|accessdate=2008-09-30] It is one of the more popular dive sites in Southern New England. The hull has depth charge blast holes: one forward of the conning tower at the radio room and another in the starboard side of the engine room. Entering the wreck is dangerous due to debris, sharp metal edges, and confined spaces.

On May 6 and 7, 1945, Navy divers attempted to enter the wreck to recover the captain's safe and the papers within, but failed. Recreational divers first visited the site in 1953. In 1960 a recreational diver brought up a body from the wreck. This provoked former navy admirals and clergy to petition the US government for restrictions on disturbing the dead. The German crewman was buried with full military honors in Newport, Rhode Island.At least two recreational divers have died from exploring the wreckage. [cite book | title=Block Island—The Sea | author=Robert M. Downie | publisher= Book Nook Press | date= 1998, page 194] Renowned deep sea diver Stephen Hardick perished in 2005 while filming the U-boat. He surfaced unconscious and could not be revived. [cite web|publisher=cdnn.info|title=Probe into scuba instructor death could take two months|url=http://www.cdnn.info/news/safety/s050830c.html|accessdate=2007-07-23] Hardick, age 60, died as the result of "saltwater drowning associated with upper gastrointestinal bleeding due to cirrhosis of the liver, cardiomegaly and urolithiasis" according to the Rhode Island Medical Examiner's office. [cite web|url=http://www.cdnn.info/news/safety/s050831.html|title=Poor health led to scuba instructor's death|accessdate=2008-09-30|publisher=www.cdnn.info]

References

External links

* [http://www.uscg.mil/History/U853.html US Coast Guard history of "U-853"]
* [http://www.desausa.org/de_photo_library/battle_of_point_judith.htm The Battle of Point Judith] - A detailed and well referenced account of the battle.
* [http://uboat.net/boats/u853.htm Uboat.net on "U-853"]
* [http://www.uboatarchive.net/26G2451.htm USS Moberly's crew paints a U-boat on their stack after sinking "U-853"]